Well, once I was a slave at the sawmill
Talk about a poor boy, talk about a poor boy
Never saw a dollar bill

My work was so hard at the sawmill
Think about a poor boy, think about a poor boy
Let me have a dollar bill

Well, see my teardrops falling down
My wife left the sawmill town
She said sawmill life had been a sin
The gravy was too thin

And I'd work no more at the sawmill
Mercy of a poor boy, mercy a poor boy
Let me have a dollar bill

And if you bring your wife to the sawmill
How you gonna please her, how you gonna please her
When she wants a dollar bill

They're not satisfied at the sawmill
'Cause women like a dollar, women like a dollar
Yes, and women always will

Oh, see my teardrops falling down
My wife left the sawmill town
She said sawmill life had been a sin
The gravy was too thin

Mercy of a poor boy, mercy a poor boy
Let me have a dollar bill...