Lyrics Give a Man Enough Rope - Keith Carradine, John Ganun, Troy Britton Johnson

Give a Man Enough Rope

As a kid I’ve tied some knots
I learned to make a loop
Spun it horizontal to the ground
Practiced lassoin' in the fenceposts
And most anything I found
Why I even roped my sisters if they dared to come around
This pastime was my solitary skill
And people asked «What will become of Will?»
(spoken)
And I told 'em
(sung)
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
And he can hang himself or not
That is the choice that he has got
He could wind up hangin' down from a tree
Or he could spin himself a life
That’s what happened to me
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
You hand some guys a pile of dough
One spends it fast
One saves it slow
You make a choice
You make a choice
Up to you what you do
Up to you what you do
This act ain’t much, but though it
I’ve met kings and queens and I’ve got to meet you
Everybody spins with different twist
So use elbow grease and just flick the wrist
If you want to aim for a great big «O»
Go for broke!
Just let it go
Never let 'em see that there’s effort there
You may sweat inside, but be debonair
If you go for tears and you go for jokes
Shrug it off!
It’s nothing, folks
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
It’s good to set your sights up high
But don’t expect pie in the sky
A guy might rush
A guy might rush
For that old pot of gold
For that old pot of gold
He may not reach the rainbow’s end
Because, my friend, the world is round
Or so we are told
Or so we are told
A guy could choose to run a bank
A guy could choose to run a bank
Another lives to till the soil
Another lives to till the soil
Or practice law or violin
Or practice law or violin
Or maybe sell banana oil
Banana oil
One builds a barn, one writes a song
One builds a barn, one writes a song
One digs a ditch, one teaches school
One digs a ditch, one teaches school
But from the day I came along
I’ve always been a ropin' fool
He’s just a ropin' fool
Give a man enough rope
Give a man enough rope
And he can get all tangled in the figure eights he tries to spin
But I’ve had luck
And my rope made me free
I’ve spun my fancy figures
Wrote my columns
Made my speeches
Loved my horses
Loved my fam’ly
Spun a lovely life
That’s what happened to me
Spun his figures
Wrote his columns
Made his speeches
Loved his horses
Loved his fam’ly
Spun a lovely life
Give a man enough rope