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This song became sort of an anthem around Victoria and amongst certain circles of Victoria musicians. Apparently people sing it amongst themselves at liquor-fuelled gatherings when they want to rail against The Man. Scott Henderson insists it's the "best song you ever wrote" which is kind of depressing as it was about the 3rd song I ever wrote and I've been writing songs for close to 20 years. The title of this song was inspired by the Hazel Dickens record Hard-Hittin' Songs for Hard Hit People.

lyrics

We can't afford to buy a house we can't afford to rent
Guess we're gonna move to the garbage dump and pitch ourselves a tent
Or maybe to the cemetery we could dig us up some holes
and live there 'til the year 2000
when the aliens save our souls

Chorus
I can't afford to keep on keepin' on I need a credit card to die
Seems like the only thing I can afford is to sit down here and cry
But I can't afford no Kleenex
to mop up all the tears
So I'll just sit here silently
Reflecting on my wasted years

Now you know I hate my stupid job it's slowly killing me
But the good Lord made bills and debt so it's suicide for salary
And I dream about makin money with my brain instead of my back
Now my youth is over my forties are comin
With a stroke and a heart attack

Chorus

Some people have a lot of things and a lot of people don't have squat
It's tough shit if you don't like it there'll always be haves and have-nots
Being rich won't guarantee that you're happy but being poor is a fuckin drag
It'll suck the life right out of you
'Til they stuff you in a body bag

Chorus

credits

from The Dogbreath Brothers - The Early Beers, released June 30, 2000
Sylvia Kenney and Betty-Ann Lampman sing backups on this.
Written by David P. Smith, arranged by the Dogbreath Brothers
Recorded and engineered by Scott Henderson at Sea of Shit Studios. Mixed by Tolan McNeil and David P. Smith at Sea of Shit Studios.

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David P. Smith Victoria, British Columbia

David P. Smith is a songwriter accordionist and multidisciplinary artist who in the past 18 years has released six full length recordings, numerous ep’s, and led a variety of musical projects that have consistently defied convenient genre classifications. ... more

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