Mama don't like your holey shoes
Scrapping in the back yard-four be two
Daddy's smokin' motor didn't make it up the hill
Mama can't pay, she got one day
She got no money for the telephone bill
Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart

Mama says to Papa now 'Where ya been?'
Papa says 'I'm sorry Mama, I got a full skin'
Mama get excited, she having an attack
Mama spins round, Daddy hits the ground
For too long now she's been taking up the slack
Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart

Jimmy coming home now-see him on the run
Mama's going through the cupboards, looking for a can
Daddy on a ladder, TV on the blink
Mama can't think, Daddy's feeling like a drink
And all the dirty dishes, lord, are piling up the sink!

Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart
Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart