When I was young, we never had
These things you claim to need.
We worked each day for lousy pay,
And struggled to succeed.
And through the years, we scrimped and saved
And never spent a cent.
But if we had to spend a sum,
We noted where it went.
Chorus:
Your parents have shown you
The way that is right.
Start "character building"
With all of your might.
The harder the struggle,
The greater the gain,
Especially if you
Are saving in vain.
We never bought those nicer things
That richer people would,
Like fancy cars or diamond rings,
But we knew where we stood.
We never used a credit card.
We never were in debt.
When times were good, our times were hard,
And yet there's no regret.
Chorus
And you will gain this treasure soon
That you can give your kid,
But first you need to change your tune
And model what we did.
And those descendants years from now
Who learn from what we've done,
Will blindly throw their lives away
To save and pass things on.