By Utah Phillips, 1997 - From the album, Starlight on the Rails, 1997
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Lyrics:
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 then 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;
He gave me a pension of handouts and wine
And told me I’m all used up.
My kids are in hock to a god you call work;
They’re slaving their lives out for some other jerk;
My youngest in Frisco just made shipping clerk,
And he don’t know I’m all used up.
These young people reaching for power and gold
Don’t have any respect for anything old;
For pennies, they’re bought and for promises sold;
Someday, they’ll be all used up.
They use up the oil; they use up the trees;
They use up the air, and they use up the seas.
Well, how about you, friend, and how about me?
But what’s left when we’re all used up?
I’ll finish my life in this crummy hotel,
And it’s lousy with bugs. 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 and spits in my eye;
And no one can tell me ’cause no one knows why
I’m livin’ but I’m all used up.
Sometimes in my dreams, I will sit by a tree,
And my life is a book of things used to be,
And my 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.
I’d give my last breath just to make it come true.
No, I’m not all used up.
They use up the oil, and they use up the trees;
They use up the air, and they use up the seas.
Well, how about you, friend, and how about me?
What’s left when we’re all used up?