There's a way of life that most folks don't even know about When the cotton crop fails and the garden dries up because of the drought And your only clothes're hangin' on your back and they're all wornout And there's patches on the patches on your knees The night wind whistles through the cracks and holes in the bedroom walls The high water comes and it takes your house barn and all You work like a dog to raise a fat hog and he dies in the fall It's trouble and strife in the way of life called poverty Poverty is a broken down shack and a greedy landlord And your money crop beaten down by the summer storm And you never see Washington's head on a greenback dollar Poverty is a wishing to the Lord that you've never been born [ steel ] Try to catch a rabbit in a knee deep snow for somethin' to eat But all you catch is a winter cough and frozen feet
The rabbits done gone and you gotta go home without any meat Wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't six kids depended on me We'd starve to d**h a long time ago hadn't been for ole blue Blues mold hound dog and he's a good in two He'll catch them coons where there ain't no coons he'll see us through This trouble and strife in the way of life called poverty Poverty is a broken down shack... [ harmonica ] Poverty is a workin' six days from dawn to dusk Seventh day is Sunday and go to church you must When they pa** their heads around you just sit there with your head hung down Cause you ain't got between you and the devil and the deep blue see It's trouble and strife in the way of life called poverty It's trouble and strife in the way of life called poverty