Once A Drifter

(album: Peaks, Valleys, Honky Tonks & Alleys - 1979)

Sitting in the back where the chairs are stacked
I'm warming up the stove
I'm thinking about my old Ford stomped to the floorboard
Chugging out of Pleasant Grove

Blazing off to California
Like a dust devil dancing on a dime
Guess I was a red-eyed backslider
Now I'm tired of the ride

But once a you're drifter, you're always a drifter
Once a you're drifter, you're always a drifter

Mama standing in the driveway
Too choked to say goodbye
I turned my collar and turned my back
Went a mile and started to cry

Johnny, Donny Brooks and me
Singing songs to pass the time
Long before the war came
Long before the star game
Long before I came to find

Once a you're drifter, you're always a drifter
Once a you're drifter, you're always a drifter

So here I am, uncertain again
Headed for no place to go
Settling down, leaving town
Family man, rambling man
I just pretend it's part of the show

One too many childhood movies
With strangers riding off in the sun
Taught me you can't talk it out
When you feel like walking out
The sequel's already begun

Once a you're drifter, you're always a drifter
Once a you're drifter, you're always a drifter...