Utah Phillips

In this 'postmodernist' era of All Irony All The Time, I find Utah's songs, well, if not 'refreshing,' then definitely eye-opening.

Utah's Intro:



To this song:



ALL USED UP
( U. Utah Phillips)

I spent my whole life making somebody rich
I busted my ass for that son of a bitch
And he left me to die like a dog in a ditch
And told me I'm all used up

He used up my labor, he used up my time
He plundered my body and squandered my mind
And gave me a pension of handouts and wine,
Told me I'm all used up

My kids are in hock to a god you call Work
Slaving their lives out for some other jerk
And my youngest in 'Frisco just made shipping-clerk
He don't know I'm all used up

The young people reaching for power and gold
And they don't have respect for anything old
For pennies they're bought, for promises sold
Someday they'll be used up

They use up the oil, they use up the trees
They use up the air and they use up the seas
Well how about you, friend, and how about me
What's left, when we're all used up

I'll finish my life in this crummy hotel
It's lousy with bugs and my God, what a smell!
But my plumbing still works and I'm clear as a bell
Don't tell me I'm all used up

Outside my window the world passes by
It gives me a handout, and spits in my eye
And no one can tell me, 'cause no one knows why
I'm living, but I'm all used up

Sometimes in my dreams I sit by a tree
My life is a book of how things used to be
The kids gather 'round and they listen to me
They don't think I'm all used up

And there's songs and there's laughter and things I can do
And all that I've learned I can give back to you
And I'd give my last breath just to make it come true
To know I'm not all used up

They use up the oil, they use up the trees
They use up the air and they use up the seas
Well how about you, friend, and how about me
What's left, when we're all used up

- - - - - - - - -

BONUS UTAH -- Singing maybe my favorite Joe Hill song. I seem to recall it's being prominent in the great Bo Widerberg film (sadly, unavailable on DVD), but my memory could be faulty on that score... :-)