5 April 2024
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Music by Jay Gorney, Original lyrics by Yip Harburg
They used to tell me
I was building a dream
And so I followed the mob
When there was earth to plow
or guns to bear
I was always there,
right on the job.
They used to tell me
I was building a dream
With peace and glory ahead
Why should I be standing
in line
Just waiting for bread?
Once I built a railroad,
I made it run
Made it race against time
Once I built a railroad,
now it’s done
Brother,
can you spare a dime?
Once I built a tower
to the sun
Brick and rivet and lime
Once I built a tower,
now it’s done
Brother,
can you spare a dime?
Once in khaki suits,
gee,
we looked swell
Full of that Yankee Doodly Dum
Half a trillion boots
went slogging through hell
And I was the kid with the drum!
Say, don’t you remember?
They called me Sal
It was Sal all the time
Why don’t you remember
I’m your pal
Say, buddy, can you spare
a dime?
Why don’t you remember
I’m your pal?
I was your pal all the time
Why don’t you remember
my name is Sal
Buddy, can you spare
a dime?