Now a good friend of mine<br />
Sat with me and he cried<br />
He told me a story<br />
I know he ain't lying<br />
<br />
Said he went for a job<br />
And Mr. Man said<br />
Without an education<br />
You might as well be dead<br />
<br />
Now don't get me wrong<br />
He said, it's not who you are<br />
But people come to me<br />
From near and far<br />
<br />
But I do just what<br />
And I follow the rules<br />
I didn't have an education<br />
So I had to go back to school<br />
<br />
Tell me one more time, people now<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
You might as well be dead<br />
<br />
One more time<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
You might as well be dead<br />
<br />
My friends told all his buddies<br />
That he loved so well<br />
And of their personal troubles<br />
I will not tell<br />
<br />
Now those guys didn't seem good<br />
And they didn't seem bad<br />
They didn't seem so happy<br />
And I know they weren't sad<br />
<br />
But the point isn't<br />
That they follow the rules<br />
They got an education<br />
And they all been in school<br />
<br />
Now underneath his tears<br />
I could see the true fact<br />
When he dropped out of school<br />
He never, never went back<br />
<br />
Tell me one more time, people<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
You might as well be dead<br />
<br />
Got to, got to, got to listen now, now<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
So one day he got tired<br />
Of his little spending change<br />
So he looked up his friends<br />
To check their pay range<br />
<br />
When he got there, the crib<br />
He found that he was a drag<br />
'Cause man, they were clean<br />
And his clothes were like rags<br />
<br />
One was a business man<br />
With the plenty of dough<br />
He had his thing so set up<br />
You know he couldn't blow<br />
<br />
The other had his job so uptight<br />
He had his whole family<br />
And his kids all out of sight<br />
<br />
Tell me one more time now<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
You got to, got to, got to get a little learning<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
What made him so hurt<br />
That these were his friends and he was a drag<br />
They looked at him<br />
And he was in the same old bag<br />
<br />
For his friends they worked real hard<br />
When the work day was through<br />
Now, he realized<br />
He should have done the same thing too<br />
<br />
Tell me one more time now<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
You got to, got to, got to get a little learning now<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
For the last time, I'm gonna say<br />
They kept on pushing<br />
When the going was tough<br />
And now they know<br />
That things don't seem so rough<br />
<br />
So kids, stay in school<br />
Don't be no drag<br />
Take a fool's advise<br />
And stay out of that bag<br />
<br />
Look here, tell me, Bobby tell me one more time<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
Tell me, The Jewels, tell me now one more time<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
Everybody, tell me one more time<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
You got to, got to, got to, got to get some learning now<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
Don't be a drop-out, stay in school now listen to me<br />
What do you say?<br />
Kids, kids<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
No, no<br />
What do you say?<br />
Without an education<br />
Might as well be dead<br />
<br />
Stay in school, have a good time<br />
What do you say?<br />
Don't, don't, don't ever blame<br />
Don't ever blame, don't ever blame, come on