Beneath the trees of the Casbah
Beneath the roots of those trees
On the casket floor
On the casket floor
Bottom of me, it feels so complete

Around my childhood museums
There stand Chinese guards
One of them has a bell
One of them has a bell
Who rings when I come too close or leave too far

You might say that it's reckless, you might say that it's wild
But I'd rather be nobody's man than somebody's child

Now there's splinters in my fingers
And there's Portland cement in my lungs
I got a hammer and a cough
I got a hammer and a cough and
All of my friends speak in foreign tongues

There's an ugliness growing up inside me
From where it has come I don't know
I left my sweetness beside
My sweetness beside
That girl I goodbyed long ago
They might find my body at the bottom of the pile
But I'd rather be nobody's man than somebody's child

Such plans they have, such gods they have
Deep in this nation of heat
We've been outdone again
We've been outdone again and
All of my friends they walk on their feet

And a congress of jackals will put a tax on my smile
But I'd rather be nobody's man than somebody's child

I might move to Las Vegas, live there for a while
'Cause I'd rather be nobody's, nobody's, nobody's
Yes I'd rather be nobody's man than somebody's child