Postby P&R Pete » Sun Mar 05, 2006 5:42 pm
When's the last time somebody batted .400?
Long time.
This calls for a hobo's story.
A Cautious Man
Bill Horton was a cautious man of the road
He walked lookin' over his shoulder and remained faithful to its code
When something caught his eye he'd measure his need
And then very carefully proceed
Billy met a young girl in the early days of May
It was there in her arms he let his cautiousness slip away
In their lover's twilight, as the evening sky grew dim
He lay back in her arms and laughed at what had happened to him
On his right hand Billy tattooed the word 'love' and on his left hand the word 'fear'
And in which hand he held his fate was never clear
Come Indian summer, he took his young lover for his bride
And with his own hands built her a great house down by the riverside
Now Billy was an honest man, he wanted to do what was right
He worked hard to fill their lives with happy days and loving nights
Alone on his knees in the darkness, for steadiness he'd pray
For he knew in a restless heart the seed of betrayal lay
One night Billy awoke from a terrible dream callin' his wife's name
She lay breathing beside him in a peaceful sleep, a thousand miles away
He got dressed in the moonlight and down to the highway he strode
When he got there, he didn't find nothing but road
Billy felt a coldness rise up inside him that he couldn't name
Just as the words tattooed 'cross his knuckles, he knew it would always remain
At their bedside he brushed the hair from his wife's face as the moon shone on her skin so white
Filling their room with the beauty of God's fallen light
(B. Springsteen)
