All Used Up ( U. Utah Phillips) I spent my whole life making somebody rich I busted my ass for that son of a bitch He left me to die like a dog in a ditch And told me I'm all used up He used up my labor, he used up my time He plundered my body and squandered my mind Then he gave me a pension, some handouts and wine And told me I'm all used up My kids are in hock to a god you call Work Slaving their lives out for some other jerk And my youngest in 'Frisco just made shipping-clerk He don't know I'm all used up Some young people reach out for power and gold And they don't have respect for anything old For pennies they're bought, for promises sold Someday they'll be used up They use up the oil, they use up the trees They use up the air and they use up the seas But how about you, friend, and how about me What's left, when we're all used up I'll finish my life in this crummy hotel It's lousy with bugs and my God, what a smell But my plumbing still works and I'm clear as a bell Don't tell me I'm all used up Outside my window the world passes by It gives me a handout, then spits in my eye And no one can tell me, 'cause no one knows why I'm still living, but I'm all used up Sometimes in a dream I sit by a tree My life is a book of how things used to be And the kids gather 'round and they listen to me They don't think I'm all used up And there's songs and there's laughter and things I can do And all that I've learned I can give back to you And I'd give my last breath just to make it come true And to know I'm not all used up They use up the oil, they use up the trees They use up the air and they use up the seas But as long as I'm breathing they won't use up me Don't tell me I'm all used up JN
Thanks to Mudcat for the Digital Tradition!