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 [ guitar ] 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