I was born on a sidewalk in a city I don't know In '65 I took arms and got on a boat They told me to shoot at wherever I saw smoke I could not stop laughing, Lord, it seemed like a joke Oh, oh Oh, oh In '75 at twenty-five I had me a son And he died when he was young because of my gun Left out in the open in case I had to run I could not believe it, neither did anyone Oh, oh Oh, oh They found me in Shreveport, just me and my knife They cleaned off my blood and they sent me to life For thirty years I lay awake in the night Thinkin' 'bout the jungle and blood and the fight Oh, fight Then in 2005, I's let out on the street A young fifty-five and now that's where I sleep I do my best workin' with a cup and a sign Askin' folks please spare some change or some time Or some time Oh, some time Yesterday a young man came and stood at my feet He asked me what I wanted, I said something to eat He said killers with guns, they belong on the street I thought about that and I laughed till I cried That's the best damn joke I'd heard in a long time A very long time Well, a very long time, time, time A very long time Lord, a very long time A very long time A very long time