Yeah, my bills are all due and the baby needs shoes but I'm busted
Cotton is down, quarter a pound but I'm busted, oh yeah
I got cow that went dry, hen that won't lay
Big stack of bills gettin' bigger each day
County's gonna haul my name, know that I went and I'm busted, I am, yeah

Well, I went to my brother to ask for a loan 'cause I was busted
But I hate to beg like a dog for a bone but I'm busted
But my brother said, "There ain't a thing I can do
My wife and my kids are all down with the flu
I was just thinking about calling on you 'cause I'm busted"

And I am no thief but a man can go wrong when he's busted
The food that we canned last summer is gone and I'm busted, no, no, no
Well, the fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow
And my family and I had to pack up and go
I'll make a living, my Lord, how I don't know 'cause I'm busted