My 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 I got a cow that went dry and a hen that won't lay A big stack of bills that gets bigger each day The county will haul my belongings away I'm busted [ guitar ] I went to my brother to ask for a loan I was busted I hate to beg like a dog for a bone but I'm busted My brother said there ain't a thing I can do My wife and my kids're all down with the flu And I was just thinking of calling on you I'm busted [ guitar ] 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 I'm busted The fields're all bare and the cotton won't grow Me and my family gotta pack up and go But I'll make a living the Lord only knows but I'm busted