Money Ain't Everything
Life's True Wealth: Beyond Money's Grasp
Lyrics
Let's go to Louisiana boys
Expression of a journey to Louisiana
Way down in Louisiana where the moss and cypress grew
Describing the location in Louisiana with moss and cypress
You'd find old Jack in a shotgun shack
Introduction of a character named Jack in a shotgun shack
In the back of the black bayou
Location specified as the back of the black bayou
Some folks called him crazy but I knew better than that
Some consider Jack crazy, but the narrator disagrees
He kept a hundred dollar bill tucked away in the brim
Jack keeps a hundred dollar bill in his cowboy hat
Of his dirty old cowboy hat
Describing Jack's hat as dirty
Jack told me a story when I was ten years
Jack shares a story with the narrator at the age of ten
He said there was once a fool tried to swim this swamp
A fool tried to swim a swamp with a back weighted down with gold
With his back weighted down with gold
Describing the foolish attempt with gold in the swamp
He said you should've seen that alligator smile
The alligator smiles at the easy meal
He had a meal fit for a king
The alligator's meal fit for a king but ends up on the narrator's table
But he need up on my table son, money ain't everything
Money is not everything, highlighted by the meal
He said there's only one way into this world
There's only one way into and out of the world
And one way out it's true
Emphasizing the limited ways in and out of life
You either eat the alligator
Metaphorically stating the choice: either overcome challenges or succumb
Or he's gonna eat you
Explaining the consequences of not facing challenges
There's people livin' in a high-rise
Contrasting high-rise living with nature's beauty
That'll never hear a robin sing
Questioning the value of success in a competitive world
What good is first place when you're in a rat race
Money is not everything in a competitive environment
Money ain't everything
Reiteration of the theme that money isn't everything
Little Maggie May lay dying, her heart was about to go
Introduction of a character named Maggie May facing death
When her daddy found a sack on the porch out back
Maggie May's father finds a sack with a large sum of gold
With a half a million dollars in gold
Describing the discovery of the gold on the porch
They still talk about the stranger who saved her life that spring
Remembering a stranger who saved Maggie May's life
No name on the note but someone wrote, money ain't everything
No name on the note, emphasizing the value of life over money
He said there's only one way into this world
Reiteration of the limited ways into and out of life
And one way out it's true
Reiterating the truth of life's limited pathways
You either eat the alligator
Metaphorically emphasizing the survival instinct
Or he's gonna eat you
Consequences of not facing life's challenges
There's people livin' in a high-rise
Reference to people in high-rise buildings disconnected from nature
That'll never hear a robin sing
Questioning the value of success without a connection to nature
What good is first place when you're in a rat race
Highlighting the futility of a rat race
Money ain't everything
Reiteration that money isn't everything in a competitive world
No name on the note but I know who wrote, money ain't everything
A concluding reminder that money isn't everything
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