[Verse 1]
Say you wanna see my garden
And you wanna make it shine
Say you wanna see my blue jeans
Hanging on your old clothesline

[Chorus 1]
Standing in the back door crying
Now you wanna be my friend
That's the way the cornbread crumbles
That's the way the whole thing ends

[Verse 2]
Now what's a little baby doing
Dressing up in banker's clothes?
What's a little sweetheart like you
Doing with a bloody nose?

[Chorus 2]
Standing in the backdoor crying
Now you're gonna need a friend
That's the way the cornbread crumbles
That's the way the whole thing ends

[Verse 3]
Now once you had a hook and ladder
Up into the headless night
Once you had a motorcycle
But you couldn't ride it right
[Chorus 2]
Standing in the doorway crying
Now you're gonna need a friend
That's the way the cornbread crumbles
That's the way the whole thing ends

[Verse 4]
Now someone said something one time
But Daddy didn't talk too loud
People ought to stick together
That's the way to make a crowd

[Chorus 3]
But here you come, alone and crying
Now you wanna be my friend
That's the way the cornbread crumbles
That's the way the whole thing ends

[Verse 5]
Mama's in the beauty parlor
And Daddy's in the baseball pool
Sister's in the drive-in movie
Brother's in the old high school

[Chorus 4]
Now here you come, alone and crying
Once, you know, you were my friend
That's the way the cornbread crumbles
That's the way the whole thing ends
[Chorus 1]
Standing in the backdoor crying
Now you wanna be my friend
That's the way the cornbread crumbles
That's the way the whole things ends