I met him on the cliffs
|
of twin rocks, oregon
|
he was sittin on his bedroll
|
lookin just like richard brautigan
|
I thought he was an old man,
|
he wasn't but 37
|
he said he'd been ridin trains
|
for 15 years
|
drawin portraits
|
to keep his belly full of beer
|
and it looked to me like he'd died
|
and missed the plane to heaven
|
but he was a nice old guy
|
for a younger man
|
he had a bottle of mad dog
|
he held in his hand
|
that he waved around a lot
|
to make his point
|
and I listened as he told his tales
|
of wine and women and county jails
|
and we finished off that bottle
|
and smoked a half a joint
|
he said "I came here to watch the sun
|
disappear into the ocean
|
it's been years
|
since I smelled this salty sea"
|
he turned his bottle up and down
|
and I saw him lost
|
and I saw him found
|
he sadi "I don't know what i've been
|
lookin for, maybe me..."
|
well, I told him I too had been
|
travelin around
|
livin out of my van from town to town
|
playin for tips and whatever records
|
I could move
|
I said "I don't reckon i'll be
|
makin it big,
|
you know it's hard to get rich
|
off a tout of coffee house gigs"
|
and he said "yeah, but ain't it a blessin
|
to do what you wanna do..."
|
and I told him "yeah, I pulled off here
|
to watch the sun disappear
|
into the ocean
|
'cause it's been years
|
since I smelled this salty sea"
|
and he turned his bottle up and down
|
he saw me lost and he saw me found
|
and I said "I don't know what i've
|
been lookin for, maybe me"
|
I said "it's kind of late
|
better be heading down the interstate
|
can I give you a lift
|
to san francisco bay?"
|
he said "nope, I think i'm just
|
going to sit here and rest
|
and maybe wait on the
|
tokyo-montana express
|
I might just lay here
|
and dream my life away
|
i'm going to sit right here,
|
i'm going to watch the sun
|
disappear into the ocean
|
'cause it's been years, it's been years
|
i'm gonna turn my bottle up and down
|
you can see my lost
|
and you can see my found"
|
I met him on the cliffs
|
of twin rocks, oregon
|
he was sitting on his bedroll looking
|
just like richard brautigan
|
just like him
|
|
-----------------
|
Twin Rocks, Oregon
|
Shawn Mullins |