It was back seventy five

I was living the hippie life

Driving round town in my Plymouth satellite

Drinking with the boys on Friday night

​

Well my brother Joe he gave me a job

But most days my head was in a fog

One fine day when I was putting up the stock

Joe came by to give me a little talk

​

Chorus:

Get your ass in gear

If you want to work here

Wake up and smell the roses my friend

To get the most out of life

You got to look it in the eye

The weak of heart don’t make it in the end

Cause there’s a big train a coming round the bend

​

So I learned how to slice a porterhouse

How to handle money at the check out

How to manage my emotions in the midst of a crowd

What hard work was really all about

But then it came time for me to leave

To go off to the university

Old Joe put a case of beer in my back seat

And with a tear in his eye he said to me

​

Chorus

​

Well the years at the market rolled on by

But Joe collapsed in the night

When the doctor came in and saw such sorry sight

He said boy that heart of yours it ain’t right

​

So he went down for the major surgery

But before he did he ordered next week’s beef

After it was over he knew he was not deceased

He heard his wife Nancy saying tenderly:

​

Get your ass in gear

If you want to stay her

Wake up and smell the roses my friend

To get the most out of life

You got to look it in the eye

The weak of heart don’t make it in the end

We’ve got five deliveries around the bend

​

As for me well I’ve traveled far and wide

I saw the Champs Elysee lit up and night

But across the world there is not a better sight

Than brother Joe a sharpening his knife

​

Yes indeed my life is pretty blessed

Though of course some of my demons will not rest

And when my mind gets lazy and I think I need to rest

I hear some words that you can probably guess

​

Get your ass in gear

If you want to stay here

Wake up and smell the roses my friend

To get the most out of life

You got to look it in the eye

The weak of heart don’t make it in the end

There’s a big train a comin’ round the bend