I make my living feeling rotten

But I feel good when I play blues

Man, I make my living feeling rotten

But I feel good when I play blues

In this world of contradictions

What can a poor boy do?

Some folks say you can't sing blues

When you're feeling good

I guess when things are lousy

I ought to knock on wood

I make my living feeling rotten

But I feel good when I play blues

In this world of contradictions

Man, what can a poor boy do?

I guess the worst things get

The better they must be

This mixed up way of thinking

Man, is killing me

I make my living feeling rotten

But I feel good when I play blues, yes, I do

In this world of contradictions

What can a poor boy do? Yeah, what can I do? Oh

Well, if I feel a little bit better

I'll probably go broke

It' enough to give a man the blues

And man, that ain't no joke

I make my living feeling rotten

I feel good when I play blues

Well, in this world of contradictions

What can a poor boy do?