John Prine — Billy the Bum

Billy the bum lived by the thumb And sang of the hobo's delight He'd prove he could run Twice as fast as the sun By losing his shadow at night Now he loved every girl In this curly-headed world But no one will know, it seems For two twisted legs and a childhood disease Left Billy just a bum in his dreams And he was just a gentle boy A real florescent light Cried pennies on Sunday morning Laughed nickels on Saturday night And your bullets, they can't harm him Nor your knives tear him apart Humiliation killed him God bless his little heart Now he lived all alone in a run-down home Near the site of the old railroad track Where the trains used to run Carrying freight by the ton And blow the whistle as Billy'd wave back But the children around Billy's hometown Seemed to have nothin' better to do Then run around his house With their tongues from their mouth Making fun of that crippled old fool And he was just a gentle boy A real florescent light Cried pennies on Sunday morning Laughed nickels on Saturday night And your bullets, they can't harm him Nor your knives tear him apart Humiliation killed him God bless his little heart Now some folks a-wait And some folks a-pray For Jesus to rise up again But none of these folks in their holy cloaks Ever took Billy on as a friend For pity's a crime and it ain't worth a dime To a person who's really in need Just treat 'em the same As you would your own name Next time that your heart starts to bleed For he was just a gentle boy A real florescent light Cried pennies on Sunday morning Laughed nickels on Saturday night And your bullets, they can't harm him Nor your knives tear him apart Humiliation killed him God bless his little heart