Billy the Bum

[Verse 1]

Billy the bum lived by the thumb

And sang of the hobo's delight

He'd prove he could run twice as fast as the sun

By losing his shadow at night

Now he loved every girl in this curly-headed world

But no one will know, it seems

For two twisted legs and a childhood disease

Left Billy just a bum in his dreams

[Chorus]

And he was just a gentle boy

A real florescent light

Cried pennies on Sunday morning

Laughed nickels on Saturday night

And your bullets, they can't harm him

Nor your knives tear him apart

Humiliation killed him

God bless his little heart

[Verse 2]

Now he lived all alone in a run-down home

Near the site of the old railroad track

Where the trains used to run carrying freight by the ton

And blow the whistle as Billy'd wave back

But the children around Billy's hometown

Seemed to have nothin' better to do

Then run around his house with their tongues from their mouth

Making fun of that crippled old fool

[Chorus]

And he was just a gentle boy

A real florescent light

Cried pennies on Sunday morning

Laughed nickels on Saturday night

And your bullets, they can't harm him

Nor your knives tear him apart

Humiliation killed him

God bless his little heart

[Verse 3]

Now some folks a-wait and some folks a-pray

For Jesus to rise up again

But none of these folks in their holy cloaks

Ever took Billy on as a friend

For pity's a crime, it ain't worth a dime

To a person who's really in need

Just treat 'em the same as you would your own name

Next time that your heart starts to bleed

[Chorus]

For he was just a gentle boy

A real florescent light

Cried pennies on Sunday morning

Laughed nickels on Saturday night

And your bullets, they can't harm him

Nor your knives tear him apart

Humiliation killed him

God bless his little heart