Lost my job, lost my money in a flash
Watching my old life turn to dust and ash
Called you up on the telephone
Ended up in a new town all alone

Took the bus on the highways tangled up
Felt the billboards' images fuck me up
Buy and sell yourself awake
Fall in love with a new thing every day

It's cold, cold
Cruel, cruel world
Cruel, cruel world
Cruel, cruel

Saw your hair in the sunlight glistening
Told you stories, you weren't even listening
Living out of an old suitcase
Looking at your stone-cold pretty face

Out of work like a true American
Got real sick with no health-care benefits
Everything turned black and blue
Government says, "We can't take care of you"

Goodbye, goodbye
Cruel, cruel world
Cruel, cruel world
Cruel, cruel, cruel