BUILDING HOUSES WITH MATCHES

Cars moved like clouds when I became a drifter
It seemed to take forever just to cross Illinois
So I haunted the railroad yards
Jumping trains, dodging guards
And very rarely resorting to gainful employ

Early morning in Seattle just as wheels began to rattle
Into my boxcar climbed a skinny girl and a boy
He said they were runaways, bound for Frisco
Getting by on beer and Nabisco
Their eyes shone with amphetamine and joy

I followed ‘em down to Panhandle Park, she lit a candle when it got dark
And spread her Mama’s blanket on the well-trodden ground
I went upon my merry way, gone hunting for someplace to lay me down
And long hours later, on the wrong side of town
I met a lady in a Hindu gown

*****
Lonely?
Yes I guess I am
Lonely as can be
I am bold and getting bolder
And I don’t give a damn if they throw me in the slam
It’s just a warning, and in the morning
I’ll go free

*****

She had a room in the attic with a Motorola playing static
Bracelets, paper flowers and sticks of Shanghai joss
I stayed for a night, I stayed for a week
I had what all men seek
Ah, but I was dead set on gathering no moss
I hopped a hiball bound for LaCrosse
And I never have quite recovered from the loss

*****


Lonely?
Yes I guess I am
Lonely as can be
I am cold and getting colder
But I don’t give a damn
My skin’s made of leather
And the weather it just rolls
Right off of me

*****

I got my hands full just sidestepping sheriffs and skinheads
They’re both doing their best to render me extinct
Just last week outside of Spokane
A harmless homeless man
Got shot down because he blinked

Well I don’t hop ‘em like I used to, I snooze for days in an old caboose
And go through all the keepsakes that one man’s pockets can hold
I spend my time building houses with matches
Watching clouds and singing snatches
Of songs I learned when I was twenty years old

*****

Lonely?
Yes I guess I am
Lonely as can be
I am old and getting older
But I don’t give a damn
Pardon me, ma’am
Would you like to come and sit down on my knee?
You’re surely going to smile
If you stop awhile and keep me company