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You Can't Always Have It Both Ways - Ver 1

from Maxims, Mantras & Moral Tales by Sam Steffen

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lyrics

I knew a man, he had a lover
One day she killed him with a kitchen knife
she learned he’d been out with another
who, it turned out, the whole time, had been his wife
It’s hard to always do the right thing
It’s never an open-and-shut case
I’d rather have my cake—and eat it, too
But you can’t always have it both ways

I know a man, had life insurance
Big old million dollar claim
He faked his death in a disappearance
now he can’t tell anyone his name
It’s hard to always do the right thing
It’s hard to know just what to chase
If I knew what I now know, a long time ago…
But you can’t always have it both ways

Jesus Christ had many a follower
He said, “You can come along, too, if you decide,
But you can’t worship that almighty dollar
And go round thinkin you’re on my side
I know its hard to always do the right thing
When the right thing don’t hardly pay
I’d rather be a good and a rich man,
But you know you can’t always have it both ways”

You can have all of our memories to speak to
Apologize to em, one by one
You can take all the time and words you need to
But you can’t undo what you done
And its hard to always do the right thing
The right thing changes every day
I’d rather need you—and be needed, too
But you can’t always have it both ways

credits

from Maxims, Mantras & Moral Tales, released October 3, 2021

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Sam Steffen Boise, Idaho

Sam Steffen is a Pennsylvania-bred, Boise-based singer-songwriter whose songs are the torch-wood for a new generation of folk music that has learned from the best stuff in the tradition and aims in spite of everything to keep the human spirit alive and kicking. A versatile musician and skilled finger-picker, Sam is at heart a story-teller, and a prolific one. ... more

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