Withered and worn
Tattered and torn
Thread bare and poor
I’m no more
Than the bum
On the corner
Singing for my supper
Hat upon the ground
Guitar playing
An old familiar sound
But I ain’t no James Brown
If you’ve got change
Throw it my way
Come on people
My kids need to eat

I’m a struggling poet
With someone else’s words
Every line I sing
Is some other Joe’s verse
I’m just a girl
A fool chasing a dream
Reaching for something
I’ll never see

To you I’m just a beggar
A singing vagabond
Starving and broken
Hat upon the ground
Guitar playing
An old familiar sound
I’ll play the songs
That you love to hear
With an angelic smile
Through the dirt
And the tears

And maybe one day
Instead of loose change
I’ll hear the roar
Of millions clapping
And chanting my name
And I’ll never have to see
My kids cry themselves to sleep
Because they had nothing to eat
And they sleep on the street
No they’ll have nice warm beds
And pillows under their heads

But will you remember
The smile that you saw
As you held a hand full of change
And only tossed in a quarter
A dime, nickel, and penny
And then moved along quickly
Like I was the plague
And you might catch me
Did you ever think
That you’d see me again
And not only that
But you paid to get in
To see me on stage
Singing something, I wrote
I belt out the lyrics
“WHO’S LAUGHING NOW?”