Poor People Have Got Poor Ways

I think back to when I was a kid,

And the way that I was raised,

The one thing I learned for certain,

Was that poor people have got poor ways.

If there was a harder way to do it,

That was the way we chose,

Of course there was often easier ways,

But we didn’t choose any of those.

When the yard edge needed trimming,

We’d prefer to use the scythe,

We’d leave the string trimmer in the storage shed,

Swinging the blade far and wide.

Why use the saw to cut a tree,

When we have a good sharp axe,

Why bother to bale up hay,

When it can be forked into stacks.

Why walk home to get a hammer,

When close to hand there lies a rock,

No need for a corn picker,

When you can bundle it in a shock.

I’ve tried hard to overcome it,

Though I tell you, that’s how I was raised,

No matter how you slice it,

Poor people have got poor ways. 

Folks who survived the Great Depression,

Don’t throw anything away,

You may need it tomorrow,

If not some time today.

If you can grow it or raise it,

And turn it into food,

Then raise at least twice what you need,

Be sure it’s store up good.

Eat all you can from the garden,

And can up what you can’t,

Everything has got a use,

Those that don’t are mighty scant. 

You’ll be surprise at what you can do without,

How little you really need,

Folks who never have had nothing,

Don’t have much use for greed.

So when it comes to hard times,

Don’t forget the phrase,

Don’t never throw anything away,

And poor people have got poor ways.