The bills are all due and the babies need shoes, but I'm busted
Cotton is down to a quarter a pound, and I'm busted
Got a cow that's gone dry and a hen that won't lay
A big stack of bills that get bigger each day
The county's gonna haul my belongings away, I'm busted

I called brother Bill thought I'd ask for a loan, I was busted
Lord, I hate to beg like a dog for a bone, but I'm busted
But Bill said that there ain't a thing I can do
My wife and the kids they're all down with the flu
And I was just thinking of calling on you, I'm busted

Now Lord I'm no thief, but a man can go wrong when he's busted
The food that we canned last summer is gone and we're busted
The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow
Me and my family's got to pack up and go
Where I'll make a living, the Lord only knows, I'm busted