[Intro]
| (C) (Am) | (F) (G) | x 2
[Verse]
C Am
Back in the day, back in the hills, we were busted,
F G
made a livin' on the government dime
C Am F G
Mama wouldn't keep her job, and the alimony check never came on time
C Am F G
We were poor, I wasn't proud, only angry that our daddy couldn't send us more
C Am F G
Always embarrassed by my free lunch card, and food stamps for the grocery store
[Chorus]
C F
No keepin' up with the Joneses, no keepin' up with the Joneses
C G
When you're stuck on the bottom, you take what you can get
You say "ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh"
[Instrumental]
| (C) (Am) | (F) (G) |
C Am
I went to school in hand-me- downs from my cousin,
F G
baggy britches seemed to suit me well
C Am F G
Kinda thin, kinda loose in the middle, slouchin' in after the tardy bell
C Am
The teacher never called me trash, but I knew what
F G
she was thinkin' when she looked at me
C Am F G
Born to be the under- class, growin' up to make a livin' on our chari- ty
[Chorus]
C F
No keepin' up with the Joneses, no keepin' up with the Joneses
C G
When you're stuck on the bottom, you take what you can get
You say "ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh"
[Instrumental]
| (Am) | (Am) | (Dm) | (Dm) | (Am) | (Am)
| (Dm) | (Dm) | (E) | (E) | (E) | (E) ---
C Am F G
Don't go lookin' down your nose at me neighbor, I could spot you from a yard a- way
C Am F G
Don't try to judge me by the clothes I'm wearing or the cars in my drive way
C Am F G
I'm not rich but I'm not poor any longer, and I'm happy as a man could be
C Am F G
I'm proud to work, I'm proud to pay my taxes, and I'm grateful for my fami- ly
[Chorus]
C F
No keepin' up with the Joneses, no keepin' up with the Joneses
C G
When you come up from the bottom, you love whatever you got
You say "ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh"
[Tag]
C Am F
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no
G C Am
No keepin' up with the Joneses, no, no, no,
F G C
no, no, no, no, no, no
Am F
Ain't nothin', ain't no one, gonna hold me down, ain't nothin',
G C
ain't no one, gonna hold me down
Am F
Ain't nothin', ain't no one, gonna hold me down, no, no, no, no, no,
G C Am F
oh, oh --- to fade