If you gave me a nickel to mend my ways Well, then I'd have a nickel And I reckon I'd probably owe you change. I don't have a care, I don't have a plan. I've got nothing to spare. And it's just the way I am. If you gave me a two-cents On how to live my life. Well, then I'd have two cents And a great big pile of bad advice I don't doubt your mind or ability I just highly doubt that you know What's right for me. You say I'm stubborn as a mule, boy 'Cause you've got words I just won't hear. I may seem stubborn as a mule, boy But if wealth is measured by the ease, To do just what you please. Then I'm the richest man in here. You say to save my pennies For a rainy day But I can't buy beer with pennies I've gone and stashed away. That rainy day might be when I'm dead. So I'd rather spend them Now on beer instead. If you bet me a dollar That I am wrong. I'd take that dollar And I'd put it in the jukebox for this song. Then I'd sit on back And pretend to hear your nagging words While I finish up my beer. You say I'm stubborn as a mule, boy 'Cause you've got words I just won't hear. I may seem stubborn as a mule, boy But if wealth is measured by the ease, To do just what you please. Then I'm the richest man in here. You got the things you need, And that's alright for you. You got your cubicle And your three-piece suit. You got security and hypertension, too. And you've got that tie that fits you like a noose. Bet your bottom dollar That the buck stops here. 'Cause if you meet me in another forty years, I'll still be broke And I may be old. But the life I've lived, Would've been worth more than gold. You say I'm stubborn as a mule, boy 'Cause you've got words I just won't hear. I may seem stubborn as a mule, boy But if wealth is measured by the ease, To do just what you please. Then I'm the richest man in here.