tear this poorhouse down when you know how to build it back,
hammer and nail between your heart and your hometown
'til you can carry this country on your back
mama glued the Keds sign on the back of my little white shoes
daddy never crossed the picket line, it was hard but we made it through
only had one little pair of stonewashed jeans with a label on the back
i'm a product of the never give up American middle class
tear this poorhouse down when you know how to build it back,
hammer and nail between your heart and your hometown
'til you can carry this country on your back
i got my education at a school they could afford
scholarships went to the rich and the grants went to the poor
so i stood behind the little downtown bar for spending money, books, and gas
to be a certified member of the work too much American middle class
now daddy can't get his pension or Social Security
worked thirty damn years in a coal mine feeding welfare families
struggle hard and hide it well, you sure ain't rich and you sure as hell ain't poor enough to get one little break
'cause everything would collapse
without the hardworking God-loving members of the American middle class
tear this poor house down when you know how to build it back,
hammer and nail between your heart and your hometown
'til you can carry this country on your back
