All Used Up
by Utah Phillips
I spent my whole life making somebody rich I busted my ass for that son-of-a-bitch And 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 And 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 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 Young people reaching for power and gold Don't have respect for anything old For pennies they're bought and for promises sold Someday they'll all be used up They use up the oil, they use up the trees They use up the air and they use up the sea Well, 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 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 sit by a tree My life is a book of how things used to be And kids gather 'round and they listen to me And 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 used up They use up the oil and they use up the trees They use up the air and they use up the sea Well, how about you, friend and how about me? What's left when we're all used up?