The Blacks

I've never seen a man as helpful as a hobo
in his bright orange beanie cap;
his fading teeth flashed through his sun parched lips
as he smiled.
See I'd almost been hit by an oncoming tram
and as everyone stood at the crosswalk,
they watched me go and held their breath,
but this hobo shouted
Nein!

I glanced up to see the tram,
bells ringing in my eyes.
I jumped quickly to the other side
and once it passed,
among the suits and slacks,
that beanie cap
and that bright chapped smile.

I never seen a man as giving as a hobo
in his tattered coat
and his sleeping bag on his back;
his crusty knees pointing through
the holes in his jeans.

I'd been walking around aimlessly,
lost as a sheep on his own.
Mickey came up and asked
if I needed help to where I wanted to go

I said I just gotta get outta this loop, man.
I'm stuck here, trying to get free.
He took me up the road
and we sat on a bench together.
Looking at the buildings he said to me,

They just don't care about what they build anymore.
He said these buildings have been here
for four hundred years.
Then he told me a joke,
handed me his scarf,
said It's gonna be cold tonight,
then he was gone.

I've never seen anyone as lonesome as a drunk man
who shouts at what I do wrong.
He says you don't know what your doing,
shoves me out of his way
and stumbles on.

All alone in this world with only beer steins to cry in,
whiskey flasks tucked in his coat lining;
paper bags he leaves on the sidewalk,
I pick em up behind 'im, then we talk.

He tells me Man, I served my country
and this is the thanks I get.
My family's all left me.
I'm like an empty pack of cigarettes.
Then he asks me for one,
I roll it for him,
he says Thanks, I got a lighter;
and I roll one for myself.

I've never seen anyone as happy as a hobo
with his cares and worries all in check.
He says Sure I got problems,
but not as many as you might expect.

He showed me where he was staying, under the bridge
down the street,
where a creek trickled by
and was lined with trees.
He said Now aint this paradise,
shared some of his food.
He told me what he strongest believed:

I can get by on just a little bread,
water ain't too hard to find,
but what I can't stand
is the constant demand
when I got apartments, utilities, and phones to pay for.

He said No, it's not a glamorous life I lead,
but I'll tell you it's more romantic than anything.
In a forest all my own,
outside of town,
no one bringing me down,
and when I'm run out,
I can leave it all behind
because I know the next place has just as much for me to find.

Yes some of the most inspiring people are hobos.
They tell you the truth
cause they got nothing to lose;
and they look ahead of their feet
to see where they're going;
and rest under the stars above them glowing.
They bathe in the rain,
blow in with the wind,
and before you know they're alive, they're gone again;

and they never worry if they'll be remembered.