I Gotta Change (Or I'm Gonna Die)

Pain pills started for a backache, doctor dropped me like a lead weight.
Now I cop off the interstate, bout 15 miles from here.

I’m not the type you would expect, I work harder than a son of a bitch.
Trying to raise up these three kids, And keep em clothed and fed.

What’s a man worth if he can’t work?
Was I really made as a rich man’s hammer?
Is this all there’ll ever be for me?

I gotta change or I’m gonna die, I wanna live so I’m gonna try,
Give it my best, this ain’t a test I plan to fail.
Where I come from, they’ll break a man,
What I got now, I built with these hands.
I’m not afraid to get a little dirt beneath my nails,
This ain’t a test I plan to fail.

Oxys beat me like I owed them money, Still on my feet and I feel like running,
Maybe somewhere it’s always summer, And leave these cares behind.

But I’ve got folks who depend on me, I rise in the dark cause I still believe there’s
Something good I just can’t see yet, Up around the bend.

I gotta change or I’m gonna die, I wanna live so I’m gonna try,
Give it my best, this ain’t a test I plan to fail.
Where I come from, they’ll break a man,
What I got now, I built with these hands.
I’m not afraid to get a little dirt beneath my nails,
This ain’t a test I plan to fail.

I used to never take an Advil, But if I don’t earn we don’t pay bills
Inside I’m screaming like an anvil, When iron and hammer meet.

I gotta change or I’m gonna die, I wanna live so I’m gonna try,
Give it my best, this ain’t a test I plan to fail.
Where I come from, they’ll break a man,
What I got now, I built with these hands.
I’m not afraid to get a little dirt beneath my nails,
This ain’t a test I plan to fail.
This ain’t a test I plan to fail.