Old Man

(album: The Wild Life - 1992)

Wanna tell ya a story that happened to me
There was this old man started chatting with me
He sat by himself on the side of the road
A cowboy hat and them pointed toes
He said, hey son what do ya do
Ya better pay attention when I'm talking to you
I've been around here for a long, long time
Could have bought this land for damn near a dime
(Right over there past that gas station over there, see it)
So I headed on over, leaned against his truck
And ya better hear me out or you're shit outta luck
I've been through times that you wouldn't believe
It makes a man feel about a hundred and three
Again he asked, what do ya do
I can't imagine by looking at you
Boy, things have changed since way back when
I wish that I was back in my teens again
I said hey, I said hey, to what the old man said
So we hopped in his truck, went for a ride
He talked about things before I was alive
Ya know, that used to be a big mining town
My brother and I brought that mountain down
My oh my, look how they built over there
Have ya ever thought about cutting that hair
Ya never told me what do ya do
Tell me kid, are ya just passing through
You say hey, you say hey, from what the old man said
So I tried and I tried and I tried and I tried
Yeah, I tried to speak my piece
So, low and behold when all was told the only listening one was me
So I tried and I tried and I tried and I tried
Yeah, I tried to break on through
So, low and behold when all was told the stubburn one was he
So the moral of the story is ya gotta learn a lesson
Especially from a man who got a Smith and Wesson
Ya better learn with your ears and not with your eyes
Or you'll be dealt a big surprise
I said hey, I said hey
To what the old man said
From what he said now