Billy The Bum Lyrics by John Prine

(from the album Diamonds In The Rough)

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
Laughs 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

Now he lived all alone
In a run down home
Near the side 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 home town
Seemed to have nothin' better to do
Then run around his house
With their tongues from their mouth
And make fun of that cripped old fool

(repeat chorus)

Now some folks they wait
And some folks they 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
And 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

(repeat chorus)

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Other Lyrics from Diamonds In The Rough

1. Diamonds in The Rough Lyrics
2. Everybody Lyrics
3. Rocky Mountain Time Lyrics
4. Sour Grapes Lyrics
5. Take The Star Out of The Window Lyrics
6. The Frying Pan Lyrics
7. The Great Compromise Lyrics
8. The Torch Singer Lyrics
9. They Oughta Name a Drink After You Lyrics

Other John Prine Albums

• Souvenirs Lyrics
• Lost Dogs And Mixed Blessings Lyrics
• Storm Windows Lyrics
• Prime Prine: The Best Of John Prine Lyrics
• Common Sense Lyrics
• Soundtrack Exclusives & Rarities Lyrics
• John Prine Lyrics
• Sweet Revenge Lyrics
• Bruised Orange Lyrics
• Pink Cadillac Lyrics
• German Afternoons Lyrics
• Live Lyrics
• Aimless Love Lyrics
• The Missing Years Lyrics
• Great Days: The John Prine Anthology Lyrics
• A John Prine Christmas Lyrics
• Live On Tour Lyrics
• In Spite Of Ourselves Lyrics
• Fair and Square Lyrics

John Prine News

• Appalachian Alumni Returns To Boone With Gregory Brothers - Asu The Appalachian Online
  by ASHLEY BENNERS If John Prine folk music being channeled through Otis Redding is up your ally, it will be worth your while to check out the Gregory
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• • Folk Music Reigns At Ark With Paxton, Mabus Sharing Stage - The Ann Arbor News - Mlive.com
  Mabus has recorded 18 albums and, over a 30-year career, has performed in concert with such folk music stars as John Prine and Joan Baez.
  mlive.com
• Cover- Entertainment Overload: Can So Many Music Venues Make It? - The Hook
  During the April 22 Bonnie Raitt concert, one of the Pavilion's only sold-out shows, Raitt sang the John Prine song, "Angel from Montgomery.
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• Americana Music Hero To Perform At Park Theater - Sawyer County Record
  Others have compared him to Tom Waits, John Prine, Steve Earle and even Led Zeppelin. Eaglesmith's live shows are "the sort of music you dream of hearing in
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• Dave Manning’s Life On The Road The Inspiration For His Music - Tahoe World
  His set list for live shows includes a cornucopia of great tunes from artists like Jerry Lee Lewis, T-Bone Walker, Woody Guthrie, John  Prine and Johnny Cash
  tahoe-world.com
• Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, Ca, 10 ... - Relix
  Folksinger John Prine played a huge set, one of the fest’s choicest, accompanied by upright bass and mandolin—to yet another overflow crowd,
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• Cmj Music Marathon - Variety
  McCauley takes his vocal and lyrical cues from Townes Van Zant, Neil Young and John Prine; using stand-up bass, electric guitar and drums, Deer Tick not
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• Making 'magic' - Chicago Sun-times
  Brown, 56, called an audible for the school's location on Steve Goodman Way and covered  John Prine's "Souvenirs," which Prine always dedicates to Goodman.
  suntimes.com
• Paul Anka Still Chasing The Musical Muse - The Associated Press
  When urban folk music had a renaissance in the 1970s,  he found John Prine and Steve Goodman in Chicago. When pop  crooners came back into style earlier this
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• Bon Iver Comes Out Of The Woods - Crawdaddy
  “Growing up was John Prine; John Prine and Jackson Browne; blues records, Champion Jack Dupree. My dad loved that stuff. Neil Young, Charlie Mingus…
  crawdaddy.wolfgangsvault.com