Bessie Smith - My Handy Man Ain't Handy No More

Once I used to brag about my handy man, but I ain't braggin' no more
Somethin' strange has happened to my handy man, he's not the man he was before
Wish somebody could explain to me, about this dual personality
He don't perform his duties like he used to do, he never hauls the ashes 'less I tell him to
Before he hardly gets to work he says he's through, my handy man ain't handy no more

He's forgotten his domestic science, and he's lost of his self-reliance
He won't make a single move unless he's told, he says he isn't lazy, claims he isn't old
But still he sits around and lets my stove get cold, my handy man ain't handy no more

Time after time, if I'm not right there at his heels, he lets that poor horse in my stable miss his meals
There's got to be some changes 'cause each day reveals, my handy man ain't handy no more

He used to turn in early and get up at dawn, and full of new ambitions, he would trim the lawn
Now, when he isn't sleeping all he does is yawn, my handy man ain't handy no more

Once he used to have so much endurance, now, it looks like he needs life insurance
I used to brag about my handy man's technique, around the house he was a perfect indoor sheik
But now the spirit's willing but the flesh is weak, my handy man ain't handy no more