Story Behind The Song

I wrote it after being disgusted with never being able to get the girl that I wanted, the gig that I wanted or anything that I wanted. I could get other things that I didn't care about but never what I did care about. The Whipping Boyls was a the name of the blues duo I belonged to at the time. I wanted to write a theme song for the group.

Song Description

A song about never having what you really want.

Lyrics

WHIPPING BOY?S BLUES

I?ve been given a living without the life
I?ve been given women but never a wife
I?ve been given a job without the pay
I?ve been given an old dirt road without the way
I?m like a ghost with the most room
But I?m not allowed to haunt it.
They say you can have anything
As long as you don?t want it.

I?ve been given an eye that sees too much
I?ve been given fingers that fear to touch
I?ve been given a hand that holds clubs and spades
I?ve been given a willow tree without the shade
I?m like a whore in an open door
But I?m not allowed to flaunt it
They say you can have anything
As long as you don?t want it.

They give me a trade but they don?t teach me the skill
Then they hand me a knife and tell me not to kill.

I?ve been given the cash without the worth
I?ve been given the wound without the hurt
I?ve been given lovers without the love
I?ve been given satisfaction that?s never enough
I?m like a ghost with the most room
But I?m not allowed to haunt it
They say you can have anything
As long as you don?t want it.

I?m like a bird with no wings
Got a beak that don?t sing,
You can have anything
Except what you want.