Saturday, January 03, 2009

How my mind works

I was laying in bed last night, late, when a lyric floated thru my brain...

"...from a chill that closed her eyes..."

I thought about it for a bit, trying to recall who sang it, and what the rest of the words were. I got a few more words after a minute,

"and I was left to grow up on my own"

...when I identified it as a Johnny Cash song, one I have not heard or thought of for 30 years, at least. Here it is, as I remember it, without having checked any lyric sites.

Orphan Of The Road by Johnny Cash

The carny show and the rodeo shared a three day stand
A cowboy met a fiery carny queen
....
They laughed and loved and shared short-lived dreams

But the carny show and the rodeo went their separate ways
..... ... soon moved on
And I was born on a winter morn to the dark-eyed carny queen
The too-late son of something that was gone

A black sheep child that grew up wild
From a seed the four winds sowed
Unwanted son of ice and fire
An orphan of the road

I was still a child when my mother died of a chill that closed her eyes
And I was left to grow up on my own
Without a name, too wild to tame, and no-one cared to try
So mostly I was mostly left alone

A black sheep child that grew up wild
From a seed the four winds sowed
Unwanted son of ice and fire
An orphan of the road

.... and old boxcars, hobo ... camps
And I was left to drift from town to town
A surging flood of restless blood flowed inside my veins
I'd never find the time to settle down

-I don't remember how he arrives there, but he finds an old cowboy dying in a boxcar, saying this.

He said "I tried to find her, but they told me that she died
And that she'd left an only son behind
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 died."

I found a match and I quickly scratched it into flickering flame
And I held it close as I gently raised his head
"My mother, sir," I said of her, "I have her same dark eyes"
He smiled, the cowboy smiled, then was dead.

A black sheep child that grew up wild
From a seed the four winds sowed
Unwanted son of ice and fire
An orphan of the road


Some people can remember numbers; I can remember lyrics. Now I will go and check the lyric sites, to see how I did.

2 comments:

Josie said...

Well Jamie? How'd you do for lyrical accuracy?
I think lyric recall is a great gift to have and an excellent one to hone. Too many of us are letting the songs go in one ear and out the other without truly digesting them.
Johnny Cash's lyrics paint a moving story - you've piqued my interest to search him out more for the 'ol Ipod. Any fav album recommendations?
Josie aka Joanne from Waterdown

Anonymous said...

Hey..... I am 50 years old now. and i remember my parents listening to this album. And thru the years I have always thought of this tune. but had no way to trace it. so now I just typed in a few lines that I recalled. and here it is. so cool...........