When I was a little boy my daddy used to say to me, son
We got a lotta big land and a lotta hard work to be done
Go get your marbles, put 'em in the house, tear down your castles in the sand
Come with your pappy to the cotton patch and get a little dirt on your hands

Get a little dirt on your hands, boy, get a little dirt on your hands
If you're gonna grow up to be a big, big man
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands

Well I got to be twenty and I thought I was a pretty big wheel
Left the country for the city, met a slicker with a shady deal
He said hold up the tavern, take all the money
Run as fast as you can
If you're gonna get along in this big bad world
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands

Get a little dirt on your hands, boy, get a little dirt on your hands
If you're gonna grow up to be a big, big man
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands

Well it's four in the morning and the warden is a-calling my name
Says he's teaching me a lesson, gonna send me out to work in the rain
Dig that ditch boy, chop that corn, I gotta make you understand
Only way to straighten out a guy like you is to get a little dirt on your hands

Get a little dirt on your hands, boy, get a little dirt on your hands
If you're gonna grow up to be a big, big man
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands

You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands