[Verse 1]
Sixteen years, sixteen years
With a second-born son in my hand
Wife got some kind of trouble with her breathin'
But I ain't missed a single shift

Get online from 9 'til 5
With a late afternoon cigarette
Sixteen years, sixteen years
And I ain't got a damn regret

[Verse 2]
I used up all my paid vacation
And I burned every last sick day
Down on my knees at the side of the bed
Where my sweet little angel lay

Explainin' what happened to her kid
When I can't even comprehend, it is enough
To make a God-fearin' man disregard a bad decision
When it comes surfacin' up

[Chorus]
Loyalty to your family never meant a damn
To a man in a suit and a tie
Countin' out dollars versus days on the job
Ain't nothin' but the bottom line

Truth is I'm gettin' tired of believin' that
The Lord has a greater plan
A brand new baby and a wife in heaven
How the hell you gonna lay off a man
After sixteen years?

[Verse 3]
If it happened just the way I'd planned, man
It'd'a gone off without a hitch
Just walk up the steps to the foreman's desk
And give him something he won't forget

And run out the back where my brother will be waitin'
In his truck in the alley on the side
But when I slammed through the doors I didn't hear an engine
Just a stop and them flashin' lights

[Chorus 2 x2]
Loyalty to your family never meant a damn
To a man in a suit and a tie
Countin' out dollars versus days on the job
Ain't nothin' but the bottom line

Truth is I'm gettin' tired of believin' that
The Lord has a greater plan
Four years shy of a 20-year pension
How the hell you gonna lay of a man
After sixteen years?

[Bridge]
The defender wants to say I'm crazy
D.A. says take a plea
'Cause there ain't no jury in De Soto County
That's gonna sympathize with me