the value of a life

you've got a choice to make, young boy
 now is your time to decide
your only chance of salvation, boy
 it's your choice to live or die

what will you do with your life?

they'll tell you that a careless man
 has every care in the world
he'll toil and struggle just to get by
 he'll never attract any girl
they'll tell you hard work is not honorable
 unless you can reap the rewards
they'll be right, of course, but in letter
 wasted plowshares turned to swords

how, how, how will you live?
what will you do with your life?
do you know how to follow the one true path
 through turmoil and strife?
can you plow a field, cut down a tree,
 write a Shakespearean sonnet?
don't follow that path, or you shall find
 you've wasted your life on it.