When I was a little boy my daddy used to say to me, so-on
You've got a whole lot of livin' and a lot of hard work to be done
He said, go get your marbles, put 'em in the house
Tear down your castles in the sand
Come with your poppy to this cotton patch
Get a little dirt on your hands

Get a little dirt on your hands, boy, get a little dirt on your hands
If you want to grow up to be a big big man
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands

Well I got to be twenty and I thought I was a pretty big whee-eel
Left the country for the city, met a slicker with a shady dea-eal
He said hold up the tavern, grab all the money
Run as fast as you can
If you want to get along in this big bad world
You've gotta get a little dirt on your hands

Get a little dirt on your hands, boy, get a little dirt on your hands
If you want to grow up to be a big big man
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands

Well it's four in the mornin' and the warden is callin' my na-ame
Said he's teachin' me a lesson, gonna send me out to work in the rain
He said dig that ditch boy, chop that wood, I've gotta make you understand
The only way to straighten out a boy like you
Is to get a little dirt on your hands

Get a little dirt on your hands, boy, get a little dirt on your hands
If you want to grow up to be a big big man
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
You gotta get a little dirt on your hands
Get a little dirt on your hands

Copyright: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Writer(s): BILL ANDERSON