the pilgrim, chapter 33

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' out o' 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

an' he's a picker

he's a prophet

an' 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' ev'ry 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 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

he's a poet

an' he's a picker

he's a prophet

an' 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' ev'ry wrong direction on his lonely way back home

there's a lot of wrong directions

on that lonely way back home