Don't Beat Me Down Lyrics - Gordon Lightfoot

Oh, when he was a man, my father would stand 

I never saw him run 

There wasn't anyone could make the man bend 

The strength of his will was the tool of his trade 

And he did his work well 

Till the powers that be took a liking to him 

And they traded his body for a cold empty shell 

Don't beat me down 

Don't beat me down 

I've got something to say 

Don't you stand in my way 

And don't beat me down 

Oh, when I was a youth, I found the truth 

In the eyes of a friend 

There wasn't anyone could make the light dim 

And we talked and we rambled and we gambled to win 

And the learning was good 

Till the powers that be to a liking to him 

They traded their fortunes for the sight of his blood 

When I was a child and my mother smiled 

At the cradle she bought 

For the little tot she held to her breast 

And the song that she sang was an anthem to love 

It was all that I heard 

Till the powers that be took a liking to me 

And they told me that love was a four-letter word 

Don't beat me down 

Don't beat me down 

I've got one life to live 

And that's all I can give 

So don't beat me down 

And now I've got a place, I got a worried face 

And a question in mind 

Please let me find a reason somehow 

Why some reap the harvest while other men die 

And the joker runs wild 

And if powers that be take a liking to us 

Then we all must return to the ways of a child 

We all must return to the ways of a child 

So don't beat me down 

Don't beat me down 

I've got something to say 

Don't you stand in my way 

And don't beat me down 

I've got one life to life 

And that's all I can give 

So don't beat me down 

Don't beat me down 

Don't beat me down