Unless you know to pay your dues
Through hard times and travail,
You got no right to sing the blues.
Croon about the love you use
And how it landed you in jail;
You know you got to pay your dues.
You got a trust fund, don’t drink booze?
Cigarettes aren’t crumpled, stale?
You got no right to sing the blues.
Take your Chevy for a cruise
grab the Greyhound, ride the rail …
You know you got to pay your dues.
If you were blind but now can view
Your life as some grand fairy tale,
You got no right to sing the blues.
Whisper, moan about the ruse
You fell for by that cheatin’ (fe)male;
You know you got to pay your dues.
If you don’t die from drug abuse,
a jealous lover, or shotgun hail,
You got no right to sing the blues.
Unless you ain’t got jack to lose,
When you hear those saxes wail,
You know you got to pay your dues
Or you got no right to sing the blues.
