Arithmetic Blues

i havent got a nickel
i havent got a dime
if i had a quarter
you know we'd have a hell of a time

one and one is two babe
one and two is three
when i see you with another man
i want to subtract you from me

whats the matter with keeping
the numbers we had before
one and one is all we need
why you looking at numbers for?

i'll get me a job with the numbers
sell em all over town
we'll add it up every night
and stop this running round

i'll buy you a nice new dress girl
some diamonds for your neck
lets go shopping every night
and stop doing arithmetic

one and one is plenty
one and two or more
thats too much for me to add
when im down on the arithmetic floor

i never went to school girl
never learned no geometry
but it dont take no book smarts
to figure out the angle your playin on me

i'll  get me a loaded pistol
with bullets enough for all
its just a simple arithmetic
for the fella you like to call

i want to spend a nickel
i want to drop a dime
i'm almost positive now
that doing math is not a crime

one from one is nothing babe
i think i got that right
by the time i finish my home work
there wont be another fight

when i'm on the street babe
looking for that dime
i'll think of when you made the math
turn me to a life of crime

its not the square or rectangle
its not the hypotenuse
its the one straight line
from my gun to your new bottle of juice

one from none is still one
theres no two anymore
if you dont stop this adding up
you'll be down on the arithmetic floor

chalk around your body
his'll be there too
it wont be very pretty
when one and one aint two

when im stuck in prison
cause the judge cant do the math
i'll put your picture on the wall
and add up all the past

one and one was plenty
what you need to add anyway
i gave your everything i had
but you made me take it all away

playing with the numbers
i should get a degree
for figuring out how to subtract
my life from my history

i havent got a formula
for what it was i done
but i figured out the answer
was a brand new smith and wesson gun

i wish you were still with me
cause i cant figure out no more
how to make the numbers
like they were before

one and one dont got nothing
when i passed through the jailhouse door
the only one i can remember
was laying on the arithmetic floor

i finally graduated
they handed me a brand new degree
for doing 30 years in prison
theres no arithmetic left in me