Unknown - Rat Race Lyrics

RAT RACE
(Sidney Carter)

The rat race is a cruel race and crooked are the rules
You'll never be a millionaire unless you win the pools
Will somebody tell me how?

My standards keep on going up just like the papers say
I smoke a better cigarette, a penny more to pay
Will somebody tell me how?

You can't afford not to afford, it's fatal to be poor
You can't afford to fall behind the man who lives next door
Will somebody tell me how?

You can't afford to worry now, for worrying can kill
And if you're over forty, then you'd better buy a pill
Will somebody tell me how?

The rat race is a cruel race: Relax, the doctor said
But how the hell can you relax, you've got to keep ahead
Will somebody tell me how?

And now the rent is going up, I cannot pay the bill
Where shall I find a hundred quid, unless I rob the till
And so I robbed the till

The more you have the more you want, it's time you understood
The old judge said, that you have never had it quite so good
Will somebody tell me how?

The chaplain came into my cell, he told me not to grieve
For blessed are the poor, he said, I wish I could believe
Will somebody tell me how?

I climbed up on my prison bed to look out through the bars
A bloody great advertisement had blotted out the stars