But I'm busted
 Cotton is down to a quarter a pound
 But I'm busted
 I got a cow that's gone dry and a hen that won't lay
 A big stack of bills that get bigger each day
 The county's gonna haul my belongings away
 I'm busted.

 I called brother Bill, thought I'd get me a loan
 I was busted
 Lord, I hate to beg like a dog for a bone
 But I'm busted
 But Bill said that "There ain't a thing I can do,
 My wife and my kids are all down with the flu,
 And I was just thinkin' about callin' on you,
 I'm busted."

 Now Lord, I'm no thief, but a man can go wrong
 When he's busted
 The food that we canned last summer is gone
 I'm busted
 The fields are all bare and the cotton won't grow
 Me and my family's gotta pack up and go
 Where I'll make a living, the Lord only, knows
 I'm busted