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)
E|(| 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