old ballyhoo

mister

won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?

i'm about a thousand dollars from my home

ain't got no mile in my pocket

no head to poke my hole through

and i don't know where i'll die when i go to

i've tried living in the valley and working at the mill

i like bootlegging better

running whiskey through these hills

now i'm back down from the mountain and living on the barn

if you've got change for five dollars

why don't you give me some?

mister

won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?

i'm about a thousand dollars from my home

ain't got no mile in my pocket

no head to poke my hole through

and i don't know where i'll die when i go to

hey

i could play in your theater

local church or corner bar

long as there's fun and money

i ain't too particular

i can sing and dance and whistle

turn cartwheels through the air

and if i get too tight to stand upright

just tie me to a chair

mister

won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?

i'm about a thousand dollars from my home

ain't got no mile in my pocket

no head to poke my hole through

and i don't know where i'll die when i go to

now when this song is over

gonna pass around my hat

so won't you reach down deep inside? hey

quiet at the back

did you come to talk or listen

folks? now everybody hush

'cause when i hit that high note

i can make a statue blush

mister

won't you lend a poor dime a cripple?

i'm about a thousand dollars from my home

ain't got no mile in my pocket

no head to poke my hole through

and i don't know where i'll die when i go to