It's My Job

Album: Coconut Telegraph (1981)
Charted: 57
Play Video
  • In the middle of late last night I was sittin' on a curb
    I didn't know what about but I was feeling quite disturbed
    A street sweeper came whistlin' by
    He was bouncin' every step
    It seemed strange how good he felt
    So I asked him while he swept

    He said "It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
    And that's enough reason to go for me
    It's my job to be better than the rest
    And that makes the day for me"

    Got an uncle who owns a bank he's a self made millionaire
    He never had anyone to love never had no one to care
    He always to seemed kind of sad to me
    So I asked him why that was
    And he told me it's because in my contract there's a clause
    That says "It's my job to worried half to death
    And that's the thing people respect in me
    It's a job but without it I'd be less
    Than what I expect from me"

    I've been lazy most all of my life
    Writing songs and sleeping late
    Any manual labor I've done purely by mistake
    If street sweepers can smile then
    I've got no right to feel upset
    But sometimes I still forget
    Till the lights go on and the stage is set
    And the song hits home and you feel that sweat

    It's my job to be different than the rest
    and that's enough reason to go for me
    It's my job to be better than the best
    and that's a tough break for me
    It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
    and that's enough reason to go for me

    It's my job to be better than the best
    and that makes the day for me Writer/s: LYMAN C. JR. MCANALLY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Don J Brand from Newnan GaSometimes the lyrics to a song will jump up and grab me before the music does. It even takes a couple of weeks sometimes before the music catches up with the lyrics. All Mac’s songs seem to do me that way.He’s in the top 5 of my favorite songwriters and story tells and has been since I first heard his first album. Little wonder why jimmy Buffet knew he was worth investing in.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Pete Anderson

Pete AndersonSongwriter Interviews

Pete produced Dwight Yoakam, Michelle Shocked, Meat Puppets, and a very memorable track for Roy Orbison.

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)Songwriter Interviews

Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.