The Freewh

It ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
It don't matter, anyhow
An' it ain't no use to sit and wonder why, babe
If you don't know by now
When your rooster crows at the break of dawn
Look out your window and i'll be gone
You're the reason i'm trav'lin' on
Don't think twice, it's all right

It ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
That light i never knowed
An' it ain't no use in turnin' on your light, babe
I'm on the dark side of the road
Still i wish there was somethin' you would do or say
To try and make me change my mind and stay
We never did too much talkin' anyway
So don't think twice, it's all right

It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
Like you never did before
It ain't no use in callin' out my name, gal
I can't hear you any more
I'm a-thinkin' and a-wond'rin' all the way down the road
I once loved a woman, a child i'm told
I give her my heart but she wanted my soul
But don't think twice, it's all right

I'm walkin' down that long, lonesome road, babe
Where i'm bound, i can't tell
But goodbye's too good a word, gal
So i'll just say fare thee well
I ain't sayin' you treated me unkind
You could have done better but i don't mind
You just kinda wasted my precious time
But don't think twice, it's all right

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,
I've walked and i've crawled on six crooked highways,
I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,
I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,
I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin',
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin',
I saw a white ladder all covered with water,
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin',
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin',
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin',
Heard one person starve, i heard many people laughin',
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter,
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony,
I met a white man who walked a black dog,
I met a young woman whose body was burning,
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow,
I met one man who was wounded in love,
I met another man who was wounded with hatred,
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest,
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty,
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden,
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,
Where black is the color, where none is the number,
And i'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then i'll stand on the ocean until i start sinkin',
But i'll know my song well before i start singin',
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

While riding on a train goin' west,
I fell asleep for to take my rest.
I dreamed a dream that made me sad,
Concerning myself and the first few friends i had.

With half-damp eyes i stared to the room
Where my friends and i spent many an afternoon,
Where we together weathered many a storm,
Laughin' and singin' till the early hours of the morn.

By the old wooden stove where our hats was hung,
Our words were told, our songs were sung,
Where we longed for nothin' and were quite satisfied
Talkin' and a-jokin' about the world outside.

With haunted hearts through the heat and cold,
We never thought we could ever get old.
We thought we could sit forever in fun
But our chances really was a million to one.

As easy it was to tell black from white,
It was all that easy to tell wrong from right.
And our choices were few and the thought never hit
That the one road we traveled would ever shatter and split.

How many a year has passed and gone,
And many a gamble has been lost and won,
And many a road taken by many a friend,
And each one i've never seen again.

I wish, i wish, i wish in vain,
That we could sit simply in that room again.
Ten thousand dollars at the drop of a hat,
I'd give it all gladly if our lives could be like that.

Well, i took me a woman late last night,
I's three-fourths drunk, she looked uptight.
She took off her wheel, took off her bell,
Took off her wig, said, "how do i smell?"
I hot-footed it . . . bare-naked . . .
Out the window!

Well, sometimes i might get drunk,
Walk like a duck and stomp like a skunk.
Don't hurt me none, don't hurt my pride
'cause i got my little lady right by my side.
(right there
Proud as can be)

I's out there paintin' on the old woodshed
When a can a black paint it fell on my head.
I went down to scrub and rub
But i had to sit in back of the tub.
(cost a quarter
And i had to get out quick . . .
Someone wanted to come in and take a sauna)

Well, my telephone rang it would not stop,
It's president kennedy callin' me up.
He said, "my friend, bob, what do we need to make the country grow?"
I said, "my friend, john, brigitte bardot,
Anita ekberg, sophia loren."
(put 'em all in the same room with ernest borgnine!)

Well, i got a woman sleeps on a cot,
She yells and hollers and squeals a lot.
Licks my face and tickles my ear,
Bends me over and buys me beer.
(she's a honeymooner
A june crooner
A spoon feeder
And a natural leader)

Oh, there ain't no use in me workin' so heavy,
I got a woman who works on the levee.
Pumping that water up to her neck,
Every week she sends me a monthly check.
(she's a humdinger
Folk singer
Dead ringer
For a thing-a-muh jigger)

Late one day in the middle of the week,
Eyes were closed i was half asleep.
I chased me a woman up the hill,
Right in the middle of an air raid drill.
It was little bo peep!
(i jumped a fallout shelter
I jumped a bean stalk
I jumped a ferris wheel)

Now, the man on the stand he wants my vote,
He's a-runnin' for office on the ballot note.
He's out there preachin' in front of the steeple,
Tellin' me he loves all kinds-a people.
(he's eatin' bagels
He's eatin' pizza
He's eatin' chitlins
He's eatin' bullshit!)

Oh, set me down on a television floor,
I'll flip the channel to number four.
Out of the shower comes a grown-up man
With a bottle of hair oil in his hand.
(it's that greasy kid stuff.
What i want to know, mr. football man, is
What do you do about willy mays and yul brynner,
Charles de gaulle
And robert louis stevenson?)

Well, the funniest woman i ever seen
Was the great-granddaughter of mr. clean.
She takes about fifteen baths a day,
Wants me to grow a cigar on my face.
(she's a little bit heavy!)

Well, ask me why i'm drunk alla time,
It levels my head and eases my mind.
I just walk along and stroll and sing,
I see better days and i do better things.
(i catch dinosaurs
I make love to elizabeth taylor . . .
Catch hell from richard burton!)

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But i see through your eyes
And i see through your brain
Like i see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do i know
To talk out of turn
You might say that i'm young
You might say i'm unlearned
But there's one thing i know
Though i'm younger than you
Even jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And i hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And i'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And i'll stand o'er your grave
'til i'm sure that you're dead

Well, i'm walkin' down the highway
With my suitcase in my hand.
Yes, i'm walkin' down the highway
With my suitcase in my hand.
Lord, i really miss my baby,
She's in some far-off land.

Well, your streets are gettin' empty,
Lord, your highway's gettin' filled.
And your streets are gettin' empty
And your highway's gettin' filled.
Well, the way i love that woman,
I swear it's bound to get me killed.

Well, i been gamblin' so long,
Lord, i ain't got much more to lose.
Yes, i been gamblin' so long,
Lord, i ain't got much more to lose.
Right now i'm havin' trouble,
Please don't take away my highway shoes.

Well, i'm bound to get lucky, baby,
Or i'm bound to die tryin'.
Yes, i'm a-bound to get lucky, baby,
Lord, lord i'm a-bound to die tryin'.
Well, meet me in the middle of the ocean
And we'll leave this ol' highway behind.

Well, the ocean took my baby,
My baby stole my heart from me.
Yes, the ocean took my baby,
My baby took my heart from me.
She packed it all up in a suitcase,
Lord, she took it away to italy, italy.

So, i'm a-walkin' down your highway
Just as far as my poor eyes can see.
Yes, i'm a-walkin' down your highway
Just as far as my eyes can see.
From the golden gate bridge
All the way to the statue of liberty.

Well, the lone ranger and tonto
They are ridin' down the line
Fixin' ev'rybody's troubles
Ev'rybody's 'cept mine
Somebody musta tol' 'em
That i was doin' fine

Oh you five and ten cent women
With nothin' in your heads
I got a real gal i'm lovin'
And lord i'll love her till i'm dead
Go away from my door and my window too
Right now

Lord, i ain't goin' down to no race track
See no sports car run
I don't have no sports car
And i don't even care to have one
I can walk anytime around the block

Well, the wind keeps a-blowin' me
Up and down the street
With my hat in my hand
And my boots on my feet
Watch out so you don't step on me

Well, lookit here buddy
You want to be like me
Pull out your six-shooter
And rob every bank you can see
Tell the judge i said it was all right
Yes!