Give a Man Enough Rope

As a kid I tied some knots I learned to make a loop Spun it horizontal to the ground Practiced lassoin' the fenceposts And most anything I found Why, I even roped my sisters if they dared to come around This pastime was my solitary skill And people asked, "What will become of Will?" And I told 'em Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope And he can hang himself or not That is the choice that he has got He could wind up hangin' down from a tree Or he could spin himself a life That's what happened to me Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope You hand some guys a pile of dough One spends it fast One saves it slow You make a choice You make a choice Up to you what you do Up to you what you do This act ain't much, but through it I've met kings and queens and I've got to meet you Everybody spins a with different twist Some use elbow grease and just flick the wrist If you want to aim for a great big "O" Go for broke! Just let it go Never let 'em see that there's effort there You may sweat inside, but be debonair If you go for tears and you go for jokes Shrug it off! It's nothing, folks Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope It's good to set your sights up high But don't expect pie in the sky A guy might rush A guy might rush For that old pot of gold For that old pot of gold He might not reach the rainbow's end Because, my friend, the world is round Or so we are told Or so we are told A guy could choose to run a bank A guy could choose to run a bank Another lives to till the soil Another lives to till the soil Or practice law or violin Or practice law or violin Or maybe sell banana oil Banana oil One builds a barn, one writes a song One builds a barn, one writes a song One digs a ditch, one teaches school One digs a ditch, one teaches school But from the day I came along I've always been a ropin' fool He's just a ropin' fool Give a man enough rope Give a man enough rope And he can get all tangled in the figure eights he tries to spin But I've had luck And my rope made me free I've spun my fancy figures Wrote my columns Made my speeches Loved my horses Loved my fam'ly Spun a lovely life That's what happened to me Spun his figures Wrote his columns Made his speeches Loved his horses Loved his fam'ly Spun a lovely life Give a man enough rope