It was winter time in Nashville down on Music Row And I was lookin' for a place to get myself out of the cold To warm the frozen feelin' that was eatin' at my soul And keep the chilly wind off me and my guitar Well my thirsty wanted whiskey and my hungry needed beans But it had been a month of payday since I heard that eagle scream So with a stomach full of empty and a pocket full of dreams I left my pride and stepped inside a bar Actually I guess you'd call it a tavern Cigarette smoke to the ceiling sawdust on the floor friendly shadows Well I saw that there was just an old man that was sittin' at the bar And in the mirror I could see him checkin' me and my guitar And he turned and he said come up here boy and show us what you are I said I'm dry he bought me a beer Then he nodded at my guitar and he said it's a tough life ain't it I just looked at him and he said you ain't making any money are you I said you been readin' my mail He just smiled and said let me see that guitar I got somethin' you oughta hear then he laid it on my ear (If you waste your time a talkin' to the people who don't listen To the things that you are saying who do you thinks gonna hear) And if you should die explaining how the things that they complain about Or the things they could be changing who do you thinks gonna care There were other lonely singers and the world turned deaf and blind Who were crucified for what they tried to show And their voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time For the truth remains that no one wants to know
Well the old man was a stranger but I'd've heard his song before Back when failure had me locked out on the wrong side of the door When no one stood behind me but my shadow on the floor And lonesome was more than a state of mind You see a devil haunts a hungry man And if you don't wanna join him well you gotta beat him I ain't sayin' I beat the devil but I drink his beer for nothin' And then I stole his song And you still can hear me singin' to the people who don't listen To the things that I am sayin' prayin' someone's gonna hear And I guess I'll die explaining how the things that they complain about Are things they could be changing hoping someone's gonna care I was born a lonely singer and I'm bound to die the same But I've gotta feed the hunger in my soul And if I never have a nickel I won't ever die in shame Cause I don't believe that no one wants to know
