My bills are all due and the baby needs shoes

And I'm busted

Cotton is down to a quarter a pound

But I'm busted

I got a cow that went dry and a hen that won't lay

A big stack of bills that gets bigger each day

The county's gonna haul my belongings away

'cause I'm busted.



I went to my brother to ask for a loan

'cause I was busted

I hate to beg like a dog without his bone

But I'm busted

My brother said there ain't a thing I can do

My wife and my kids are all down with the flu

And I was just thinking about callin' on you

And I'm busted.



Well I am no thief but a man can go wrong

When he's busted

The food that we packed that last summer is gone

And I'm busted

The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow

Me and my fam'ly got to pack up and go

But I'll make a living just where I don't know

'cause I'm busted.



Words and music by harlan howard

(copyright 1962 tree publishing co.,inc.)

International copyright secured

All rights reserved.