I used to work for the New Jersey Railroad
I got laid off cause the times weren t good
My unemployment is sixty-five dollars
Sixty-five dollars don t buy what it should
I have a-a weakness for 80-proof whiskey
Lately, I m drinking a bottle every day
Messing my mind up
Lord, it s wrecking my body
But it helps make those long, lonely hours slip away
I used to be a railroad man
And I m damn proud of it, too
I did more work in a working day
Than any two men could do
Foreman said I drink too much
I said that s just half-way true
I drink half as much as my daddy did
And twice as much as you
I used to have me a good looking woman
Loved her and kept her
And called her my own
She started packing when I started drinking
Now I m drunk and I m busty
And I m angry all alone
I used to be a railroad man
And I m damn proud of it, too
I did more work in a working day
Than any two men could do
Foreman said I drink too much
And at last I know it s true
But I m too far gone to change now
Ain t nothing I can do