Merle Haggard
I Take a Lot of Pride In What I Am
[Verse 1]
Things I learned in a hobo jungle
Were things they never taught me in a class room
Like where to find a handout
While thumbing through Chicago in the afternoon
Hey I'm not bragging or complaining
I'm just talking to myself man to man
This old lentil fat I'm chewing
Didn't take a lot of doing
But I take a lot of pride in what I am
[Verse 2]
I guess I grew up a loner
Don't remember ever having any folks around
But I keep thumbing through the phonebooks
And looking for my Daddy's name in every town
And I meet lots of people
But I always end up leaving on the lam
Hey where I've been, where I'm going
I didn't take a lot of knowing
But I take a lot of pride in what I am
[Verse 3]
I never travel in a hurry
'Cause I got nobody waiting for me anywhere
Home is anywhere I'm living
If it's sleeping on some vacant beach or city square
Or if I'm working on some road gang
Or just living off the fat of our great land
I've never been nobody's idol but at least I have a title
And I take a lot of pride in what I am
This old lentil fat I'm chewing
Didn't take a lot of doing
I take a lot of pride in what I am