Getting By A Quarter At A Time

(album: Paint Me Back Home In Wyoming - 1978)

She's not a kid anymore she can hide her age in these dim lights
Waiting tables in this bar ain't what she's looking for
The short years fly by but oh the long long nights
A bar tends to make a woman hard
Read a story in the lines beneath her eyes
As tips hit the table they jingle and they jangle
Get her by a quarter at a time
She's getting by a quarter at a time a diamond in the rough has lost her shine
Slinging drinks at least will pay the rent again get her by a quarter at a time

Another man stands up to leave she's always been left behind
The change she's waiting for keeps walking out the door
But her quarters are sliver lined she's danced to everybody's tune
But getting stepped on don't make her cry
But after work the jukebox brings a little tear drop
The memories cost a quarter at a time
She's getting by a quarter...