He Was A Long Tall Stranger From Way Down South Where He'd Left His Life Behind
He Had A Big Old Gibson And A Pickup Truck And Shenandoah Eyes
And I Remember Him Sitting In That Local Bar Where I Earned My Pay Each Night
Singing My Songs To Empty Chairs And Going Home Half Tight

So The Nights Rolled By Like Headlights Shining On A Lonesome Strip Of Tar
I Kept His Words Of Kindness Close To Me Like A Pick On My Guitar; And We
Talked About The Singers And The Songs We Loved And The Songs We'd Most Forgot
In That Run-down Bar They'd Make Last Call And I'd Never Want To Stop

'Cause I Was Living On Nothing But A Young Girl's Dreams
With My Cowboy Boots And My Old Six-string
Hitching My Wagon To A Star, Dreaming Of Leaving Those Local Bars
When I'd Get Him Up At Closing Time For A Couple Of Songs And A Chance To Shine
Like The Star That He Longed To Be, He Looked A Helluva Lot Like Me

He'd Played A Lot Of Places Where The Only Wages Were Food And Beer For Free
No Fancy Licks, But He Had Him A Gift For The Kind Of Songs He'd Sing
But You Do What You Can To Be A Satisfied Man, Just To Have Your Peace Of Mind
So He Gave It All Up For A Government Job Where The Paychecks Come On Time

So Now He Comes To The Bar To Hear Me Play Guitar And To Share A Drink Or Two
And We Sit Swapping Tales Of Where We've Been And What We'd Rather Do
There's A Wealth Of Danger When You're Talking To Strangers, And I Meet Them All The Time
But My Heart Knew Better Than My Head When I Looked Into Those Eyes

'Cause I Was Living On Nothing But A Young Girl's Dreams With My Cowboy Boots And My Old Six-string
Hitching My Wagon To A Star, Dreaming Of Leaving Those Local Bars
When I'd Get Him Up At Closing Time For A Couple Of Songs And A Chance To Shine
Like The Star That He Longed To Be, He Looked A Hell Of A Lot Like Me

Well, Maybe I'll Quit When I Got Me A Kid And A Place To Call My Own
But Tonight There Ain't Nobody There Waiting Up For Me At Home
It's A Hell Of A Way To Live From Day To Day Not Knowing Where You're Bound
But The Look In His Eyes Made Me Realize I Was Glad For The Life I'd Found

'Cause I Was Living On Nothing But A Young Girl's Dreams With My Cowboy Boots And My Old Six-string
Hitching My Wagon To A Star, Dreaming Of Leaving Those Local Bars
When I'd Get Him Up At Closing Time For A Couple Of Songs And A Chance To Shine
Like The Star That He Longed To Be, He Looked A Hell Of A Lot Like Me
Like The Star That He'd Always Be, He Looked A Hell Of A Lot Like Me