The Future's Not What It Used to Be lyrics

I left Decatur, hell-bent to forget

Bought a ticket to Skowhegan, Maine

I wound up in Seattle

So drunk and so rattled

Lord, I'd caught the wrong train

Found some fast easy women

And some hard drinkin' men

Swore I'd drown the sorrow in me

Oh, I once had a lot

But the future was not

Not what it used to be

Oh, the years they went by

And I went steadily downhill

Till I had no place left to go

Made the missions by mornin'

Made the dives every night

Until I made a wreck of my body and soul

And then I met a lady

In time she made me forget

Her love set me free

Oh, we didn't have a lot

But the future was not

Not what it used to be

I never thought I would live to get old

Oh, the past cut a hole deep in me

But there was a chance

To be here a while longer

At least I wanted to be

Somebody told me she was in town

I found out today

Lord, how it hurts me

To hear that she's down

But what else can I say?

I know her sorrow, I know her pain

I know her need

I once loved her a lot

But the future's just not

Not what it used to be

• Artist:Mickey Newbury
• Album:'Frisco Mabel Joy (1971)