See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans

Wearin' yesterday's misfortunes like a smile

Once he had a future full of money, love, and dreams

Which he spent like they was goin' outa style 


And he keeps right on a'changin' for the better or the worse

Searchin' for a shrine he's never found

Never knowin' if believin' is a blessin' or a curse

Or if the goin' up was worth the comin' down 


He's a poet, he's a picker

He's a prophet, he's a pusher

He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned

He's a walkin' contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction

Takin' every wrong direction on his lonely way back home 


He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars

And he's traded in tomorrow for today

Runnin' from his devils, lord, and reachin' for the stars

And losin' all he's loved along the way 


But if this world keeps right on turnin' for the better or the worse

And all he ever gets is older and around

From the rockin' of the cradle to the rollin' of the hearse

The goin' up was worth the comin' down