indian head penny

i rolled off the frisco mint in 1909

the last one they ever made

you should've seen me shine

when i landed on the counter they gave me to a kid

making change for a jaw breaker was the first thing that i did

i got traded for a pocket knife

two marbles and some string

wound up on a railroad track waiting for a train

snatched up by a hobo and turned right into wine

pitched up against the wall at least a thousand times

round and round a penny goes

round and back again

listen and i'll tell you

the places that i've been

i was stolen from a banker by pretty boy floyd and then

he gave me to a farmer who was trying to save his land

i was good luck to a soldier back in wwii

he lost me in a poker game the day the war was through

i got stuck behind the back seat of a '51 chevrolet

spare change in the sixties

getting worthless every day

not it's piggy banks and gum machines

and occasional wishing wells

or laying on a bar room floor

as far and wide

so both of us can dare

a promise i will love and bide

that's all i have to share

a chance to sail among the stars

that few will ever see

to feel the deepest missing you

that most think cannot be

a heart that beats for only one

and loves you fast and true

a promise i will love and bide

that's all i have for you

these things i have to give to you

their value isn't much

just things that you can barely see

and rearely ever touch

a hand to hold when we're alone

and no one seems to care

a gentle touch to reassure

and tell you i'm still there

to try my best to reminisce

our dreams that all come true

a promise i will love and bide

that's all i have for you

my promise i will love and bide

this i give to you.