I went down to the city and I found myself a job Working for the people who do need some helping out But then in truth I found there was so little left to give The government might save their lives, might not help them to live There's a hole in the bucket and the people fall out There's money underground but you can't get it out When you stand at the State House, smile, and say "Please?" There's a crack in the floor and the people fall through And they wind up coming back to you From a place it seems like they can never leave There's a hole in the system for the people in need How do you tell a woman who is 82 years old Poor and lying in her bed and needing help at home That there is no more money, there is nothing you can do Just hold on for a better year and we'll try to get to you There's a hole in the bucket and the people fall out There's money underground but you can't get it out When you stand at the State House, smile, and say "Please?" There's a crack in the floor and the people fall through And they wind up coming back to you From a place it seems like they can never leave There's a hole in the system for the people in need Oh beautiful for spacious skies and amber waves of grain America, you're beautiful but you have got to change You think of how to save your skin but you never mind the bones Have we become a country where the hearts have turned to stones? There's a hole in the bucket and the people fall out There's money underground but you can't get it out When you stand at the State House, smile, and say "Please?" There's a crack in the floor and the people fall through And they wind up coming back to you From a place it seems like they can never leave There's a hole in the system for the people in need