He was holding up a cardboard sign, I didn't read it, just drove on byThought to myself, man, get a job, and hit it out in the downtown mallThen later on, on the evening news, there he was in an interviewAnd they asked him, man, how'd you end up here?And as his eyes filled up with tears, he said, you probably wouldn't think itBut I used to have a life, a job I was proud ofA son and a beautiful wife, a house and a neighborhoodYeah, man, I had it goodUntil the night our car hit that wallAnd I lost it allHe said I tried to hold her on the road, but it was raining hardAnd I lost control when that other car swerved in our laneI jerked the wheel and I hit the brakes, but there was nowhere to goNothing to do, nothing to do, nothing to doNothing I could do, later on that night when I came toThe doctor said, I've got bad newsSo unless you've been there in those shoesYou probably wouldn't think itBut I used to have a life, a job I was proud ofA son and a beautiful wife, a house and a neighborhoodYeah, man, I had it goodUntil the night our car hit that wallAnd I lost it allThe next morning on my way to workI rolled my window downI said, hey man, if you need a jobWell, maybe I could help you outAnd as he climbed up in my old truckI said, I saw you on the roadAnd I realized that could be meStanding in your shoesCause the cancer took my wife away last fallYou see, I know what it's likeTo hit that wallCause I lost it allI lost it allWhen you lose it allYou gotta keep on breathingWhen you lose it allHe was holding up a cardboard signI didn't read itI just read itAnd I drove on byThought to myself, man, get a job