Bruised Orange

There was a time
When lonely men would wander
Thru this land
Rolling aimlessly along
So many times
I've heard of their sad story
Written in the words
Of dead men's songs.

Down through the years
Many men have yearned
For freedom
Some found it
Only on the open road
So many tears of blood
Have fell around us
'cause you can't always do what you are told.

Please tell me where
Have all the hobos gone to
I see no fire burning down
By the rusty railroad track
Could it be that time
Has gone and left them
Tied up in life's eternal traveling sack.

Last sunday night
I wrote a letter
To my loved one
I signed my name
And knew i'd stayed away
Too long
There was a time
When my heart was free to wander
And i remember as i sing
This hobo song.

I'm going steady with iron ore betty
And she's goin' steady with me
We receive our mail in the same mailbox
And we watch the same tv
I got rug burns on my elbows
She's got 'em on her knees
Yeah, i'm goin' steady with iron ore betty
And she's going steady with me.

Hey, i been pickin' my brains out
I been workin' at the hardware store
I been trying to put a chicken in the window
Chase away the wolf from the door
Betty's been down in the iron ore mine
Bringing home energy
Yeah, i'm goin' steady with iron ore betty
And she's goin' steady with me.

I been speaking to her in english
She's been speakin' in the english too
We always speak the same language
'cause we're always gettin' thru
I met her at a dance at the union hall
It was a night with daddy g.
Yeah, i'm goin' steady with iron ore betty
And she's goin' steady with me.

I been thinking lately about the people i meet
The carwash on the corner and the hole in the street
The way my ankles hurt with shoes on my feet
And i'm wondering if i'm gonna see tomorrow.

Father forgive us for what we must do
You forgive us we'll forgive you
We'll forgive each other till we both turn blue
Then we'll whistle and go fishing in heaven.

I was in the army but i never dug a trench
I used to bust my knuckles on a monkey wrench
Then i'd go to town and drink and give the girls a pinch
But i don't think they ever even noticed me.

Fish and whistle, whistle and fish
Eat everything that they put on your dish
And when we get through we'll make a big wish
That we never have to do this again again? again????

On my very first job i said thank you and please
They made me scrub a parking lot down on my knees
Then i got fired for being scared of bees
And they only give me fifty cents an hour.

Things got rough
Things got tough
Things got harder than hard
We were just trying to make a livin'
In our back yard

We were born too late died to soon
Anxiety's a terrible crime
If you don't come now don't come at all
'cause it's a crooked piece of time.

It's a crooked piece of time that we live in
A crooked piece of time
All in all and all in all
It's a crooked piece of time.

Yesterday morning an ill wind came
Blew your picture
Right out of the picture frame
Even blew the candle out
From underneath the flame
Yesterday morning an ill wind came.

My heart's in the ice house come hill or come valley
Like a long ago sunday when i walked through the alley
On a cold winter's morning to a church house
Just to shovel some snow.

I heard sirens on the train track howl naked gettin' nuder,
An altar boy's been hit by a local commuter
Just from walking with his back turned
To the train that was coming so slow.

You can gaze out the window get mad and get madder,
Throw your hands in the air, say "what does it matter?"
But it don't do no good to get angry,
So help me i know

For a heart stained in anger grows weak and grows bitter.
You become your own prisoner as you watch yourself sit there
Wrapped up in a trap of your very own
Chain of sorrow.

I been brought down to zero, pulled out and put back there.
I sat on a park bench, kissed the girl with the black hair
And my head shouted down to my heart
"you better look out below!"
Hey, it ain't such a long drop don't stammer don't stutter
From the diamonds in the sidewalk to the dirt in the gutter
And you carry those bruises to remind you wherever you go.