Workin' Man Blues - Merle Haggard & The Strangers

I woke up this morning kissed my wife good bye I pray to god that I make it home safe tonight It's a dangerous job but I take that risk I trade my blood and sweat just to feed my kids Ive been workin' for the man since a tender age Now a rich politician wants to lower my wage Pour me a drink so I can understand These are the struggles of a workin' man I work outside in the pourin' rain When its cold as ice, when im full of pain It dont matter what i feel inside, long as the job that im workin' gets done on time The boss man says works gettin' slow Pack up your tools boys and head on home I pour another drink and try to understand These are the struggles of a workin' man (Spoken) See i work construction, i build things You understand how important that is to the world I dont know if ya'll realize the pressure that puts on a man like me I love my wife and I raise my son Best I can, better than some I just found out there other day I got another little one thats on the way I took a new job down at the factory Ya, dont pay much but atleast we can eat I roll up a smoke and i make a new plan These are the struggles of a workin' man Went down to the river just the other day Got down on my knees and began to pray I said lord please wont you understand The struggles of this workin' man These are the struggles of a workin' man

I'm a hard working man I wear a steel hard hat Yeah, I can ride, rope, hammer, and paint Do things with my hands that most men can't I can't get ahead no matter how hard I try I'm getting really good at barely getting by Got everything I own By the sweat of my brow From my four-wheel drive to my cowboy boots I owe it all to my blue collar roots Feel like I'm working overtime on a runaway train I've got to bust loose from this ball and chain I'm a hard, hard working man I got it all on the line For a peace of the promised land And I'm burning my candle at both ends 'Bout the only way to keep the fire going Is to outrun the wind Come Friday night (Come Friday night) I like to party hard Yeah, and I carry on with the Cadillac cuties Spend my whole week's pay on some weekend beauty And come Monday morning I'm the first to arrive Ain't nothing but business y'all from nine to five I'm a hard, hard working man I got it all on the line For a peace of the promised land And I'm burning my candle at both ends 'Bout the only way to keep the fire going Is to outrun the wind I can't wait to get up in the morning And do it all over again Well, I'm a hard living, hard working man

Working man begs for his own sweet time Busting them knuckles for a dollar and a dime Spending his life on the factory line Working man Morning coffee in his steel toe boots Drink it up, lace 'em up, light that fuse Ain't stacking nothing but some IOU's Working man Can't be late, can't catch a break BC Powder 'cause everything aches Cold six-pack, end of the day Working man Singin' whoa, whatcha gonna do? Woman needs loving and the kids needs shoes Ain't nothin' left when he pays them dues Working man Whoa, where ya gonna turn? Daddy said, "Son, better listen, better learn" Ain't nobody shelling out no concern for the workin' man Yeah, I've seen it firsthand buddy, just like you That's why I'm out here singing these blue collar blues For the working man Yeah, the working man remembers what he learned in the bible Devil's gonna play when your hands go idle Always looking for a shot at the title of the workin' man Yeah, all that stuff when it hits the fan Rolls downhill and lands on the working man Whoa, whatcha gonna do? Woman needs loving and the kids needs shoes Ain't nothin' left when he pays them dues Working man (working man) Singin' whoa, where ya gonna turn? Daddy said, "Son, better listen, better learn" Ain't nobody shelling out no concern for the working man Yeah, I've seen it firsthand buddy, just like you That's why I'm out here singing these blue collar blues For the working man, yeah Whoa, where you gonna run? Born here, die here, get the job done It's a life passed down like an old shotgun Working man Singing whoa, whatcha gonna do? Woman needs loving and the kids needs shoes Ain't nothin' left when he pays them dues Working man (working man) Singin' whoa, where ya gonna turn? Daddy said, "Son, better listen, better learn" Ain't nobody shelling out no concern for the working man Whoa, where ya gonna turn? Whoa, better listen, better learn Whoa, ain't no concern for the working man

Carolyn, let me tell you what I heard about a man today He didn't come home from work and he went away Till he came to a city, bright in the night time like day There they say he met up with some women dressed in yellow and scarlet Their warm lips like a honeycomb, dripped with honey And something about the smell of strange perfume Made him feel warm and not alone Yes Carolyn, a man will do that sometimes on his own And sometimes when he's lonely I believe a man might do that sometimes out of spite But Carolyn, a man will do that always When he's treated bad at home Yes Carolyn, a man will do that sometimes on his own And sometimes when he's lonely And I believe a man might do that sometimes out of spite But Carolyn, a man will do that always When he's treated bad at home

I hear people talkin' bad about the way we have to live here in this country Harpin' on the wars we fight, an' gripin' 'bout the way things oughta be An' I don't mind 'em switchin' sides, an' standin' up for things they believe in When they're runnin' down my country, man They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me Runnin' down a way of life our fightin' men have fought and died to keep If you don't love it, leave it Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin' When you're runnin' down my country, man You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me I read about some squirrely guy who claims he just don't believe in fightin' An' I wonder just how long the rest of us can count on bein' free They love our milk an' honey, but they preach about some other way of livin' When they're runnin' down my country, hoss They're walkin' on the fightin' side of me Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me Runnin' down a way of life our fightin' men have fought and died to keep If you don't love it, leave it Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin' When you're runnin' down my country, man You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me Yeah, walkin' on the fightin' side of me Runnin' down a way of life our fightin' men have fought and died to keep If you don't love it, leave it Let this song I'm singin' be a warnin' When you're runnin' down my country, man You're walkin' on the fightin' side of me

I just remember something that I forgot to do The bedroom door needs paintin' and the walls are fadin' too Angie's bike needs fixin' that all takes time you see And I know I'm not fooling you goodbye comes hard for me. So I'll just check for things once more and look in every room I must have dropped my comb somewhere and a man must stay well groomed It seems I have the right to stay but I know you don't agree When it's goodbye to all our love goodbye comes hard for me. Goodbye comes hard for me and I hoped you'd grab my sleeve I thought that you might change your mind and ask me not to leave My face is wet I've dried I guess I loved you now you're free When it's goodbye to all our love goodbye comes hard for me. My face is wet I've dried I guess I loved you now you're free When it's goodbye to all our love goodbye comes hard for me...

I love you So much I can't Let you go And some times I believe you love me But somewhere Between Your hand In mine There's a door With-out any keath Somewhere Between Your hand In mine There's a window That i can see through There's so all So high In reaches The sky Somewhere Between me and you S o l o: # # # Somewhere Between Your hand In mine There's a love I can't understand It's a whear For that wine That faces Like a smile And i'm left In the middle again Somewhere Between Your hart In mine There's a window That i can see through There's so all So high In reaches The sky Somewhere Between me and you Somewhere Between me and you