Orphan Of The Road

From a carnie show and a rodeo that shared a three day stand

A cowboy met a fiery carnie queen

In new spring nights amid the lights of the painted carnie van

They laughed and loved and shared shortlived dreams



But the carnie show and the rodeo went their seperate ways

And the carnie season bloomed and soon moved on

And I was born on a winter morn to the dark eyed carnie queen

The too-late-son of something that was gone



The black sheep child that grew up wild

From the seed the four winds sowed

Unwanted son of ice and fire

An orphan of the road



I was still a child when my mama died

Of a chill that closed her eyes

So I was left to grow up on my own

Without a name too wild to tame no one cared to try

So mostly I was mostly left alone



In dingy bars and cold boxcars hobo jungle camps

I joined the men who drift from town to town

The surgin' flood of restless blood flowed inside my veins

I'd never find the time to settle down



The black sheep child that grew up wild

From the seed the four winds sowed

Unwanted son of ice and fire

An orphan of the road



In the misty rain I caught the train that slowed down through the town

And I pulled myself into the boxcar door

In a passing light in the deep grey night I saw the still dark form

Of an old man lying sick upon the floor



And he said I tried to find her but they told me that she'd died

And that she'd left an only son behind

And I tried to find him but I never did but I know I could rest in peace

If I could just see him once before I die



I found a match and I quickly scratched it into a flickerin' flame

Then I held it close and I gently raised his head

My mother sir I said of her I have her same dark eyes

He smiled a cowboy smile and then was dead



The black sheep child that grew up wild

From the seed the four winds sowed

Unwanted son of ice and fire

An orphan of the road