Hurtin' For Money

[good4somethingbum]

Hurting For MoneyWhen I left the ring that night, I knew I’d had enoughBlood, sweat and spit on my red Everlast glovesHe knew I was gonna win, when I landed that uppercutHe started aimin’ low, his last desp’rate blowHit south of my gutBut I hale from hardy stock, east Texas farmin’ folkMy wife said I looked more handsome, when my nose got brokeI sat in my dressing room, gashes on my cheeks and chinSwollen eye in the mirror, but it still saw clearA battered man who’d beenHurtin’ for money, fightin’ to stay aliveAlways on guard, broken n scarredKillin’ myself to surviveO life sure is funny, hurtin’ for moneyAs my trainer untied my gloves and doctored my left eyeI pictured some peaceful acres, ‘neath an endless skyHow I coulda made more cash, if I’d stayed on the ropesJust taken a dive, gone down in fiveAnd gotten a fat envelopeBut my one good eye, saw my wife’s ringside seatShe knew that losin’ was the only way I’d face defeatI dropped him with a jab, watched the ref count tenThat guy lay there in shame, for once I felt the painOf the poor man that I’d beenHurtin’ for money, fightin’ to stay aliveAlways on guard, broken n scarredKillin’ myself to surviveO life sure is funny, hurtin’ for moneyI limped from that arena, my back ached …my legs were crampedAnd with the way I fought, they said I had a shotOf fin’lly bein’ champNow farmin’ don’t bring much in, and my back still hurtsBut me n my wife, enjoy a quiet lifeAnd we ain’t poor even when we’re Hurtin’ for money, fightin’ to stay aliveAlways on guard, broken n scarredKillin’ ourselves to surviveO life sure is funny, hurtin’ for money©2007 Robert George