Beggars and Mules

[Verse 1]
Always did like music
I always did like wine
Always liked 'em best when they was mine
I’d heard enough of Nashville
To give a happy man the blues
So I took a job for nothing as a beggar and a mule

[Chorus 1]
Hauled my cart and guitar (hauled my cart and guitar)
And I stood outside the door (stood outside the door)
Singin': Listen to me, listen...
Won’t you listen to me, sir?

[Post-Chorus 1]
Well, fuck that cause I’ve got too much pride
Fuck that 'cause I got clear
And fuck them that got no heart at all
Or the balls to trust their ears

[Verse 2]
I sat upon the sidewalks
I saddled up my sides
I chewed my cud and washed it down with pride
Catnip and barleycorn
Made ready for the show
I lost myself in stories of the hard luck and morose

[Chorus 2]
People pitched me pennies (people pitched me pennies)
And they pounded on the glass (pounded on the glass)
Then they left to see the painted man
And I left to pack my ass

[Post-Chorus 2]
Good goddamn, another empty town
Goddamn, another shell
Goddamn, 'cause when I ride back home
I’m a stranger there as well

[Verse 3]
Can’t say they weren’t good to me
I can’t say they weren’t kind
It’s more the way they weighted down my mind
It’s more the lack of dignity
And the hustle and the hounds
Have to take your hat off just to lay it on the ground

[Chorus 3]
It was never for the money (never for the money)
Or the whistles and applause (whistles and applause)
And I will not tip my hat
Unless you sing me back a song

[Post-Chorus 3]
So God bless the sound of music
God bless the golden rule
That’s why all my friends are beggars
And all my friends are mules