Under the Table

Under the table, on a dead-end street
Under the table, that’s where I make ends meet.
I had two jobs 2 jobs makin’ minimum wage;
Didn’t make enough for my bills to get paid.
You couldn’t feed a dog on what I made –

Under the table, in cold cash I’m paid.
Under the table, there’s a lot of barter and trade.
I put in a thousand applications everywhere;
Mostly got no response, or a lot of hot air.
I even had a college degree, but nobody cared –

Under the table, out of sight out of mind;
Under the table, the only decent work I can find.
Running on empty, with no safety net;
Never catching up, forever in debt,
Ducking and dodging from the IRS –

[Bridge]
Workin’ off the books, tryin’ to survive,

Doing what it took, just to stay alive.
For every three of us that look, there’s only one job;
I’m one of the two left out in this dog-eat-dog!

Under the table, off the statistical charts;
Under the table, from unreported parts;
Invisible down in the underground economy,
Trapped in the cracks, of what they call recovery,
The ‘American Dream’ just a distant memory –

Under the table, it wasn’t my choice;
Under the table, you got no voice.
In a world of indecision, you do what you must;
There ain’t no politicians speaking for us.
All across this nation, there’s millions of us –
Under the table, oh I’m under the table. Available and able, I’m workin’ under the table.