You say your baby's leavin, leavin' you so sad
And you say you ain't believin' anyone could feel this bad
The sun refused to shine and dark clouds follow you around
It's hard to keep your head up when your chin is on the ground
Let me tell you, brother, that I know the blues are real
Don't you ever doubt I know exactly how you feel
One day you're walkin' tall and proud, as pretty as you please
And the next thing that you know, your trouble's got you on your knees
And you may not want to hear this now, but I've got some good news
You'll never know how sweet love is until you've had the blues
Now, ain't life kind of funny in a tragic sort of way
Cause you've got to lose your money unless you never play
And everyone will tell you, take the ups with the downs
It's hard sometimes to believe those ups are comin' back around
People walkin' fast, lookin' past me all the time
If indeed I was in need, they wouldn't spare a dime
Cause most of them don't wanna know or care who I am
And some who say they care for me sometimes don't give a damn
And I know this may sound crazy, but I'm sure that it's true
You'll never know how sweet life is until you've had the blues
No matter where you're standin, somethin's fallin' on your head
And that's why we must remember what old Mr. Newton said
What goes up surely must come down, and I say that's why
Till you've kissed the ground, you'll never know how high you can fly
Let me tell you people that I know the blues are real
Don't you ever doubt I know exactly how you feel
One day you're walkin' tall and proud, as pretty as you please
And the next thing that you know, your trouble's got you on your knees
And you may not want to hear this now, but I'm sure that it's true
You'll never know how sweet love is
You'll never know how sweet life is
You'll never know how sweet it is until you've had the blues