| Chorus |
| G | G7 | C | C7 | |
| Look for the | bare necessi | ties, the | simple bare ne | cessities |
| G | E7 | A7 | D7 | |
| For | get about your | worry and your | strife |
| G | G7 | C | C7 | |
| I mean the | bare necessi | ties or | Mother Nature's | recipes |
| G | E7 | A7 | D7 | G | |
| That | bring the | bare ne | cessi | ties of | life |
| D7 | G | D7 | G | G7 | |
| Wherever I | wander, wherever I | roam, I couldn't be | fonder of my big | home |
| C | Cm | G | A7 | |
| The bees are | buzzin' in the | tree to make some | honey just for | me |
| A7 | |
| You look under the rocks and plants |
| D7 | G | E7 | |
| And tak | e a glance at the fancy ants, and maybe | try a | few |
| A7 | D7 | G | D7 | G | |
| The bare ne | cessities of | life will come to | you, | they'll come to | you |
| Chorus |
| When you pick a paw-paw or prickly pear and you prick a raw paw, next time beware |
| Don't pick the prickly pear by paw, when you pick the pear try to use the claw |
| But you don't need to use the claw |
| When you pick a pear of the big paw-paw, have I given you a clue? |
| The bare necessities of life will come to you, they'll come to you |
| So try to relax in my backyard if you act like that bee acts, you're workin' too hard |
| Don't spend your time just lookin' around for something you want that can't be found |
| When you find out you can live without it |
| And go along not thinkin' about it, I'll tell you something true |
| The bare necessities of life will come to you, they'll come to you |