Lyrics

10. Last of the Middle Class 3:22
music and lyrics by Ernest Troost


Frayed at the collar
Torn at the seam
Pants too long, but his shoes are clean
Tie’s got a stain and the knot’s too tight
But he’s walkin’ with a purpose like he’s got the right
Like he’s got the right, like he’s got the right
He’s walkin’ with a purpose like he’s got the right

The haves have much and the nots have not
He sleeps in a shelter on a surplus cot
He brings his lunch in a brown paper sack
Yeah, they try to break his spirit, but he comes right back
He comes right back, he comes right back
Yeah, they try to break his spirit, but he comes right back

Chrome skyscrapers blockin’ out the sun
Greed scowls in the shadows, got compassion on the run
Compassion's on the run, compassion's on the run
Greed scowls in the shadows, got compassion on the run

bridge
You ask him how this all makes him feel
He says, how I feel ain’t part of the deal
I do what I can, I do what I must
But in the end it comes down to trust
And empty swing sets and shattered glass
I am the last of the middle class

Shiny limos pass him on the street
Toss some coins at his feet
He hunts on his knees in the roadside ditch
When the poor get hungry, boys, they’ll eat the rich
They’ll eat the rich, they’ll eat the rich
When the poor get hungry, boys, they’ll eat the rich

He says he’ll fight till his dying day
‘Til they drag his old bones away
He stands up straight, victory in sight
Yeah, he’s walkin’ with a purpose like he’s got the right
Like he’s got the right, like he’s got the right
He’s walkin’ with a purpose like he’s got the right


Ernest Troost, vocals, guitars, bass, pump organ, pandemic brass
Gary Ferguson, drums