For The Sake Of A Dollar
Willie P. Bennett 1979

Once there was a miner who held down his job
`Til one day he died from the fate of his God
Now his wife, she did mourn him 'til the collectors came `round
And they stole all his possessions before they'd bury him down

Now his wife and his children
Pay the rent with their tears
They live alone with one another
Wake late at night with their fears
'Cause the money ain't nothing
to the rich man in town
But for the sake of a dollar
They let the whole family drown

Now the old man had wrote out all the things he had saved
He said he'd saved them a gold mine, but it was all in his head
And one solemn child, who had been born that year
He was brought up with the memories of the feelings and the fears

And now his wife and his children
Pay the rent with their tears
They live alone with one another
Wake late at night with their fears
'Cause the money ain't nothing
to the rich man in town
But for the sake of a dollar
They let the whole family drown

The bartender's arm shook as he poured one more round
He said he'd heard many stories, and was I long in the town
Well I paid up my dollar and I laughed as I did
I said I'm one of the family 'though I long kept it hid

And now I'm older and tired now
And I've travelled around
I've slept in many dark cities
I've been jailed in small towns
And my father would tell you
If he'd lived 'til this day
That if life be a gamble
Let blood be the stake