Mid-Life Crisis Songs #65: Shopworn

I wanted to dig into Porter Wagoner's back catalogue and found myself irresistibly drawn to his 1967 album, The Cold Hard Facts Of Life, which surely has one of the greatest album covers of all time. If a picture's worth a thousand words, this picture's worth a thousand country songs. Although the ending of this story is much darker than you might expect...

Shockingly though, that isn't my favourite track on the album. Instead, I point you towards a classic spoken word Mid-Life Crisis misery-ramble... they don't make 'em like Shopworn anymore.

Did you ever think of life as just a shop along the street

And yourself as a product displayed in easy reach

And you laid there for some quite some time now and pondered at your fate

Then you begin to wonder if maybe you'd hit the market late

Wealth had looked you over once and seen you at your best

But somehow you didn't fit his needs so he took one of the rest

Love had read your label and you lingered in her mind

But the competition caught her eye and she left you there behind

Fame had brushed the edges or the counter where you lay

And she pondered for a moment but then she walked away

Lady Luck had even picked you up but then you heard her say

I just can't afford you so I'll have to let you lay

This one has a slightly happier ending though...