(Harlan Howard)

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

I called brother Bill and I asked for a loan, I was busted
Lord, I hate to beg like a dog for a bone but I'm busted
But Bill said 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 callin' on you, I'm busted.

--- Instrumental ---

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 gotta pack up and go
Where I'll make a living the Lord only knows, I'm busted...