I JUST DON'T WANT TO BE RICH
As recorded by Sam Hinton on "Sam Hinton Sings the Songs of Men," Folkways Records, 1961; and Smithsonian Folkways, 2004. [Listen at YouTube.]

Oh, you wonder why I'm a hobo, and why I sleep in the ditch.
It ain't because I'm lazy; no, I just don't want to be rich.
Now, I could eat from dishes; it's just a matter of choice,
But when I eat from an old tin can, there ain't no dishes to wash.
Deedle dee dum dee deedle dee die dee doe, deedle dee dum dee day. [or something similar]

Now, I could be a conductor, and never have a wreck,
But any kind of a railroad man to me is a pain in the neck.
I could ride in a Pullman, but there it is again:
The plush they put on the Pullman seats tickles my sensitive skin.
Deedle dee dum….

Now, I could be a banker, if ever I wanted to be,
But the very thought of an iron cage is too suggestive for me.
I could be an accountant, and always balance my books,
But reading figures weakens the eyes and glasses spoil my looks.
Deedle dee dum….

Now, I could be a tenor, and easily strike high C,
But I heard one on the radio and that was enough for me.
Whenever I think of Lincoln, I never can forgive
The guy that would murder a man like him and let these tenors live.
Deedle dee dum….

Now, I could be a soldier, and hold my rifle steady,
But why should I go volunteer? They'll draft me when they're ready.
You wonder why I'm a hobo, and why I sleep in the ditch.
It ain't because I'm lazy; no, I just don't want to be rich.
Deedle dee dum….

- - -
This song appears in A Treasury of Railroad Folklore: The Stories, Tall Tales, Traditions, Ballads, and Songs of the American Railroad Man, by B. A. Botkin and Alvin Fay Harlow, Crown Publishers, 1953, on page 461 – but I haven't seen the actual book. Google Books provides only a "snippet."