Feed of Man

If you Beat up, butcher, and You bleed a man: If
you bang up and badger and Bloodlet a man; And
then I come along On the feet of man And half way
laff and cry ’bout The meat of man, And I do what I
can to Bale string and tie some ballad truths Up
cured out For the feed of man And folks try to tell
me That it's on God's orders That you bleed your
man; It's on God's good word that you Bleed your
man; On God's plan print That you dead a man; Or
you spit and curse and whip Your man; I say I'll
help you fix and Squeeze yourself up a new kind of
a God Of some kind; One that tells you Fertilyze
and multiplye; One that Tells You: Outsow and
outblow, Outplant and outgrow; Outdo, and outrun,
and outclimb, and out spread Every other tree and
bush And brushyfruits and flower petalls; Out fruit
them all For the feed of man; Out stalk and out hunt
and out think For God's own sweet sake, out think!
Out think! Outthink the fruits Outgrow these animal
kind and shapes of man! It you miss and go down
Your dust will turn up on that long hot job Once
more again To help in the feeding and the seed of
man And not in the bleeding and the end of man.

Published by Woody Guthrie Publications, Inc. (BMI)/Warner-Tamerlane Publishing
Corp./Words-Ampersand Music (BMI)

Words: Woody Guthrie (Date Unknown)
Music: Jeff Tweedy 1998
Jay Bennett: B3 organ, Leslie guitar
Billy Bragg: resonant guitar
Ken Coomer: drums
John Stirratt: bass
Jeff Tweedy: vocal, acoustic guitar, electric guitar