Born to be a roughneck I'll never amount to nothin' Pullin' case and layin' pipe is hard labor Well I was born in a bloomer shack bout a half mile from town Papa was a driller on a wildcat crew and my mama never was around Well I learned how to cuss when I was two and to fight when I was three By the time I was five there was no kid alive Who could get the best of me Born to be a roughneck I'll never amount to nothin' Pullin' case and layin' pipe is hard labor Well I started workin' like a regular man when I was just about knee high Skinnin' the knuckles with my two bare hands but they never heard me cry I remember walkin' down the street and I'd hear somebody say He was born to live a rougneck's life and he's never gonna change his ways Born to be a roughneck