A-Sleeping At the Foot of the Bed

Did you ever sleep at the foot of the bed when the weather was a whizzin' cold? When the wind was a whistlin' round the house And the moon was yellow as gold You give your good one mattress up to aunt Lizzy and uncle Fred Too many kinfolks on a bad night so you went to the foot of the bed I could always wait 'til the old folks Had an eating believings with grace The teacher could keep me after school I'd still have a smile on my face I could wear the big boys worn out clothes And let sister have my sled But I'd always did get my nanny goat to sleep at the foot of the bed It was fine enough when the kinfolks come And the kids brought brand new games Well, you could see how fat all the old folks was And learn all the babies names Had biscuits and custard and chicken pie, we all got Sunday fed But I know damn well when night time come I was heading for the foot of the bed They say some folks don't know what it is Having company all over the place To wrestle for cover on a winter night With a big foot sitting in your face Or a cold toenail just scratching your back And the foot boards grabbing your head I'll tell the world you ain't lost a thing Never a sleepin' at the foot of the bed I've done it over and over again in this land Of the brave and the free And in this awful battle of life, it's left it's mark on me For I'm always a-struggling around at the foot instead of forging ahead And I don't think it's caused from a dog-gone thing But sleepin' at the foot of the bed