Old Joe Riley

Old Joe Riley owned a fishin’ shack With the ocean out front and the bay out back He had a little boat and a fisherman’s tan When he wasn’t out fishin’ he was sittin’ in the sand Then the big boys came and they offered him millions To put up some condos or a swank hotel Old Joe Riley told them no thanks anyway I could use the money but I just can’t sell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell Come on He said I’ve seen the cities eatin’ up small towns Where you can’t smell the breeze and it’s cement ground You pay to park your car but it ain’t safe to walk Nobody looks you in the eye, don’t speak, don’t talk So when the big boys came and they offered him millions To put up some condos or a swank hotel Old Joe Riley told them no thanks anyway I could use the money but I just can’t sell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell Here we go Yeah the bank lock box there’s a deed to some land With his widow’s gold ring a few grains of sand Joe Riley’s granddaughter’s gonna face a big choice I hope she remembers her granddaddy’s voice When the big boys came and they offered him millions To put up some condos or a swank hotel Old Joe Riley told them no thanks anyway I could use the money but I just can’t sell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell A low rent heaven beats a high dollar hell Come on