In the shadows of the smokestacks   Through the black snow that lay on the land   Walked home one winter morning   With my life's savings in my hand      Maryanne, she's fixin' up some breakfast   Got the lights on, on the Christmas tree   Sittin' there lookin' up at an angel   With something dyin' inside of me      Grew up with great expectations   Heard the promise and I knew the plan   They say people get what they deserve   But Lord, sometimes it's much worse than that      Maryanne, she's takin' in some laundry   I got a part-time job at a drive-in stand   Oh Lord, what did I do   To deserve these empty hands      Across the cities, across this land   Through the valleys, and across the sand   Too many people standin' in line   Too many people with nothin' planned   There's too many people with empty hands      Now Maryanne's been cryin'   Lord knows I love her the best I can   When my pride is bruised and broken   She slips her hand into my empty hands      Without hope, without love, you've got nothing but pain   Just makes a man not give a damn   That's no way for us to live   We've got to fill these empty hands      Across the cities, across this land   Through the valleys, and across the sand   Too many people standin' in line   Too many people, they got no plans   There's too many people with empty hands