Goddamn Money

“Goddamn money. It always makes you blue as hell.”—The Catcher in the Rye

I hustle down to the corner

And order me a coffee to go

The cashier’s smile is tired

Everybody knows what I know

She hands me back my change and then I drop my tip

A trickle of her wages just a drip drip drip

I wander down the counter in a stupid spell

Goddamn money make you blue as hell

This barista is strictly business

There’s somewhere else she’d rather be

She’s got an air of refinement

I wonder what she does when she’s free

Coffee-making lady serves a burning kiss

I dip dip dip deep down into this

My job is like a rock that’s a-rollin’ downhill

Goddamn money make you blue as hell

A dim grey man at a table

Tells a silent guy about better days

When he was boss of the office

Now he’s camping in cafes

(Once he had a dream that he shot

Somebody who was not to blame

His soul flew out of his body

While somebody screamed)

My glance meets the man’s at the table

His eyes shine right into mine

Without words he plainly tells me

Something you might say with a sigh

You give it all you got and still they get you for more

It’s so damn easy just to fall through the floor

It’s hittin’ me so clearly that I want to yell

Goddamn money make you blue as hell

.