Lyrics

Verse 1
When I was young I drank from the fountain
A draught of the rugged American Dream
With stories of bootstraps and do-it-yourselfin’
And how anyone can become anything
But the food that I eat was picked by a migrant
The water I drink has been carefully cleaned
The car that I drive was imported from Asia
The fuel that it burns came from the Middle East

Verse 2
I can’t even own my mellifluous singin’
And I’ve always had ways with the words that I’ve had
But the words that I speak I learned from my mother
The notes that I sing I heard from my dad
Maybe I’m only a drop in a bucket
Prob’ly I’m only a sip of the sea
If I’m being honest when I just think on it
I start to lose what it means to be me

Pre-Chorus
What do I have that I haven’t received?

Chorus
Well I don’t know what I am
And I don’t know where I stand
But I know,
I’m not a self made man

Verse 3
The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing
While the soul of the worker is richly supplied
But what does a man gain for all of his labor?
“Well it’s all a vanity,” Solomon sighs
The only goodness that I’ve ever carried
It belonged to someone who gave it to me
But what could I do for the right to receive it
When a gift in the giving is meant to be free

Pre-Chorus
What do I have that I haven’t received?


Chorus
Well I don’t know what I am
And I don’t know where I stand
But I know,
I’m not a self made man
With what I’ve got
I’m just trying to do the best that I can
But I know,
I’m not a self made man