Mister, won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?
I'm about a thousand dollars from my home.
Ain't got no mile in my pocket, no head to poke my hole through,
And I don't know where I'll die when I go to.
I have tried living in the valley and working at the mill -
I like bootlegging better, running whiskey through these hills.
Now I'm back down from the mountain, and living on the b**.
If you've got change for five dollars, why don't you give me some?
Mister, won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?
I'm about a thousand dollars from my home.
Ain't got no mile in my pocket, no head to poke my hole through,
And I don't know where I'll die when I go to.
Hey, I could play in your theater, local church or corner bar -
Long as there's fun and money, I ain't too particular.
I can sing and dance and whistle, turn cartwheels through the air,
And if I get too tight to stand upright, just tie me to a chair.
Mister, won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?
I'm about a thousand dollars from my home.
Ain't got no mile in my pocket, no head to poke my hole through,
And I don't know where I'll die when I go to.
Now when this song is over, gonna pass around my hat -
So won't you reach down deep inside - Hey, quiet in the back!
Did you come to talk or listen, folks? Now everybody hush!
'Cause when I hit that high note, I can make a statue blush.
I'm about a thousand dollars from my home.
Ain't got no mile in my pocket, no head to poke my hole through,
And I don't know where I'll die when I go to.
I have tried living in the valley and working at the mill -
I like bootlegging better, running whiskey through these hills.
Now I'm back down from the mountain, and living on the b**.
If you've got change for five dollars, why don't you give me some?
Mister, won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?
I'm about a thousand dollars from my home.
Ain't got no mile in my pocket, no head to poke my hole through,
And I don't know where I'll die when I go to.
Hey, I could play in your theater, local church or corner bar -
Long as there's fun and money, I ain't too particular.
I can sing and dance and whistle, turn cartwheels through the air,
And if I get too tight to stand upright, just tie me to a chair.
Mister, won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?
I'm about a thousand dollars from my home.
Ain't got no mile in my pocket, no head to poke my hole through,
And I don't know where I'll die when I go to.
Now when this song is over, gonna pass around my hat -
So won't you reach down deep inside - Hey, quiet in the back!
Did you come to talk or listen, folks? Now everybody hush!
'Cause when I hit that high note, I can make a statue blush.