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        
Mama wouldn't keep her job, and the alimony check 
           G
never came on time
C                      Am                         F  
We were poor, I wasn't proud, only angry that our 
                    G
daddy couldn't send us more
C                        Am                      
Always embarrassed by my free lunch card, and food 
  F                      G
stamps for the grocery store

[Chorus]
                       C                               
No keepin' up with the Joneses, no keepin' up with the 
F
Joneses
                         C                             
When you're stuck on the bottom, you take what you can 
G
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
Kinda thin, kinda loose in the middle, slouchin' in 
                  G
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                        
Born to be the under- class, growin' up to make a 
  F                    G
livin' on our chari- ty

[Chorus]
                       C                               
No keepin' up with the Joneses, no keepin' up with the 
F
Joneses
                         C                             
When you're stuck on the bottom, you take what you can 
G
get
You say "ooh ooh, ooh ooh, ooh ooh"

[Instrumental]  
| (Am) | (Am) | (Dm) | (Dm) | (Am) | (Am)
E|(| Dm) | (Dm) | (E) | (E)

E| | (E) | (E) --- 

C                          Am                        
Don't go lookin' down your nose at me neighbor, I 
   F                       G
could spot you from a yard a- way
C                            Am                      
Don't try to judge me by the clothes I'm wearing or 
   F                G
the cars in my drive way
C                        Am                       F  
I'm not rich but I'm not poor any longer, and I'm 
                  G
happy as a man could be
C                               Am                    
I'm proud to work, I'm proud to pay my taxes, and I'm 
F                     G
grateful for my fami- ly

[Chorus]
                       C                               
No keepin' up with the Joneses, no keepin' up with the 
F
Joneses
                          C                            
When you come up from the bottom, you love whatever you
 G
 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