Lyrics

When I was a kid I’d lie awake in bed
And listen to the rock and roll radio station
Painting leather and chrome on black velvet
Across my adolescent imagination
There were songs about singers and songs about truckers
And I couldn’t tell which was which
But they had me dreaming of the unrolling highway night
And the kinda rides I might hitch

I stumbled onto Cohen and Kerouac
In the neighbourhood library shelves
And I never let anybody read the poems
I started making up myself
Awkward as a first date, clumsy on the court
Used to being made fun of
But I found a bunch of old records at garage sales
They were singing about peace and love

I learned a few chords on a cheap guitar
And started teaching my fingers their places
Got a pawn-shop amp and a distortion box
And man, I was off to the races
With some buddies who were similarly shitty at sports
And our half-baked dreams and songs
We were playing in the punk rock dives downtown
And some girls were even singing along

Singing I’m out in the wind again
Before they know I’m gone
Doesn’t make money or sense but I’m a-hoppin’ the fence
And I’m a-looking for a brand new song
If you wanna take one of ‘em and run with it
That’s what I wrote ‘em for
Signed yours truly, troubadourly yours

I tried a bunch of different ways of paying the rent
But it always seemed like a bummer
To work all year so you can go camping
For a couple of weeks in the summer
I put a bed in a van and took off without a plan
Thinking how bad could it be?
‘Cause if I didn’t try and follow my dream
The what-ifs might wind up following me

Well, it was way more faking it than making it
But at least I was making the rounds
Filling my hungry eyes with sights
And my hungry ears with sounds
And I met a lot of fellow wackadoodle dreamers
Living and loving on the run
There were plenty nights I don’t remember
But I heard I was having fun

I sure wasn’t getting any younger
From all of the partying I used to do
And I played a ton of gigs for exposure
But I heard you can die of that too
I’ve been careless and crude, over-eager and too shy
Inebriated and indiscreet
I don’t need to be reminded of my failures
I’ve always had a front row seat

Some nights I’m sleeping in a parking lot
Takin’ a leak in a ditch
Then I’m staying in a friend’s friend’s beach house
Feeling filthy stinking rich
I sing in theatres, bars and houses
For high and low, left, right and in between
And I can tell you most everyone’s nicer up close
Than they are behind their screens

I guess troubadouring’s probably the oldest way
Of carrying the people’s news
And listening for the underlying melody
In every place’s particular blues
Singing the kinda songs for rousing the rabble
And bringing the beaten-down cheer
I’m smugglin’ ‘em around and I’m a-talkin’ ‘em fast
Like a hope-hustlin’ auctioneer

And I admit it’s complicated
To be doing this the way I do
In a rig that smokes dinosaurs
And coughs out CO2
And I can see so many ways the deck got stacked
For fellas who look like me
Talk to a gal living on the road
If you wanna know about bravery

But it’s an ever-unwinding riddle and gamble
That I’ll probably never tire of
Labouring to keep both sides afloat
The logistics and the love
And I sure wouldn’t say my way of making a living’s
Any better than any way else
Every job’s got dignity and drudgery
But it shines when you do it well

‘Cause I believe in working hard
I believe hard work deserves respect
And I believe that helping other people along
Is the steadiest way to success
I believe in trails, I believe in trees
I believe dogs when they wag
I believe in my fellow Earthlings
No matter what creed or flag
And I believe in ordinary folks
More than the powerful few
And that the needs of people, not profit
Should be guiding what we do
I believe in One Big Union
How old Woody sang it true
I believe Mother Jones and Joe Hill
I believe Anita Hill too
And I believe I could always be wrong
But I believe the truth will out
And I believe we got a lot more in common
Than we got to fight about
Like we all got a right to be here
By the mere fact of our birth
I believe that imagination
Is the strongest force on earth
I believe our deeds make ripples
I believe our words do too
I believe we’re better than our blunders, friends
And I believe in you
I believe that what the world needs now
Is love, sweet love
It’s what we’re here for
And it’s the only thing we could always use more of
I believe in this tenuous, tangled
Line from womb to tomb
I believe it looks like rain
I believe I’ll dust my broom

Home’s everywhere and nowhere
When you’re livin’ by the rhyme
You get to loving so many people and places
And you miss ‘em all at the same time
Take in all the farewells and welcomes
The profane and the profound
‘Til eventually you just pull up stakes
And catch the westbound

Singing I’m out in the wind again
Before they know I’m gone
Never made money or sense
But I’ll be hopping the fences
‘Til I sing my last song
If you wanna take one of ‘em
And run with it
That’s what I wrote ‘em for
Signed yours truly, troubadourly yours
Oh, signed yours truly
Troubadourly yours