Last night I slept in a hobo camp
Down south of Cairo Georgia
About five miles out of town
By the railroad track
Well, I eat their stew
I drunk their brew
And I smoked their stale tobacco
I stood up to their open fire
And I warmed my back
And in the meantime me and this one
Particular hobo
We struck up a conversation
And I'm sure he must
Have noticed my surprise
When he told me
How his old man died
And left him sole heir
To a million dollars
And how he gave it all away
And he chose a hobo's life
Cause he said, "Son
There's better things in life
Well, there's some things
Gold and silver just can't buy"
He said, "Boy, I'd rather sleep here
On this dry creek bed
With a wrinkled up overcoat
To pillow my head
Than fight that living
High up on the hog
Trying to keep ahead
Till my head's in a fog
Son, there's better things in life
Than growing ulcers over money
There's better things in life"
Sing children
Well, I left Georgia
Got me a job
In Opelika Alabama
Working for a man who drove me hard
And he paid me cheap
Yes, he did
Well, I watched this poor fool work so hard
Trying to make that almighty dollar
That he had to live on pills
From a drugstore down the street
Now like last spring
When income tax came due
He just sat around for days and worried
Losing good sleep
Trying to figure how to cheat
On the government
Yes, he did
He worked so hard that his nerves collapsed
And he woke up
Inside Central State Hospital
And on his taxes
He got back fourteen dollars
And some few cents
So let me tell you friends
There's better things in life
Well, there's some things
Gold and silver just can't buy
Because now he's laying out flat
On his back on the bed
His nerves all shot
And he's out of his head
That hospital bill
That'll make him holler
When he sees what he spent
Trying to save himself a dollar
Son there's better things in life
Than growing squirelly over money
There's better things in life
Sing children, sing