Murray McLauchlan - Shoeshine Workin' Song lyrics

A kid came up while I was Walkin' down the street today And asked if he could shine my shoes For two bits worth of pay I wasn't in no hurry And it wouldn't take too long But as he worked I heard him sing A strange and mornful song Why does Daddy drink so much And come home sad and mean? Why does he just sit there Lookin' at the T.V. screen Why does he get sick and cry And blame it all on me? Why does Daddy drink so much And come home sad and mean? Why does Daddy drink so much And come home sad and mean? I asked him where his Daddy was His thumb jerked past his ear He's over in the hotel Tryin' to drown himself in beer My Mom says he's my Daddy But he says that he don't know I don't know why he's like he is I try to love him though Well I said, I'm no authority On bein' beaten down But sometimes this old world Can drive a man into the ground Can chain him to his paycheck If some boss will give him work Or put him in a welfare line And treat him like he's dirt When the dreams they give a man are gone There's little left but hate Some men are blinded to the truth Until it's just too late Until he finds himself begging With his hand all around his hat Kid, you ask your Daddy If he knows a man like that The kid looked at me funny And I gave him fifty cents And he knew as he took it That it was already spent I smiled as he picked up his box The kid, he said "So long" And as he left I heard him sing His shoeshine workin' song Why does Daddy drink so much And come home sad and mean? Why does he just sit there Lookin' at the T.V. screen Why does he get sick and cry And blame it all on me? Why does Daddy drink so much And come home sad and mean? Why does Daddy drink so much And come home sad and mean?