I'm pissed off at the number
Of people that I meet
Who go to shake my hand
With a viper up their sleeve
They freeze me out all winter
Burn me up all summer
Try to take my money
When I'm desperate and depressed
Ain't it a mess

I've played for free and paid for
The miles on my truck
Got no sleep in motels
Cause the worry keeps me up
It almost drives me crazy
Thinking about my baby
And how he's gonna love me
If I'm desperate and depressed
Can't get no rest

Momma never told me
That things would be this way
Daddy tried to warn me
That there'd be hell to pay
If I can't find the money
Then I can't buy the time
I'm stuck here making
Someone else's dime
We busked in Sarasota
I made twenty-seven bucks
I wept for Richard Manuel
Thinking I might have his luck
You talked behind my back
But only stabbed me in the front
But don't think you can hurt me
Cause I'm desperate and depressed
Ain't it a mess

Please, somebody tell me
How to make it stop
This world feels like a roller coaster
I just can't get off
Tried rehab and probation
Tried self-medication
But none of that can cure you
When you're desperate and depressed
Ain't it a mess

Momma never told me
That things would be this way
Daddy tried to warn me
That there'd be hell to pay
But if I can't find the money
Then I can't buy the lie
Oh, ten percent of nothing
Ain't a dime
So don't you try to sell me back what's mine
I'll be desperate and depressed until I die