Lyrics

the dawn hit wild in colors that were blazin
they broke upon a house in presque isle, maine
an old man wandered out holdin a bed roll
legend tells that bobby was his name

been decades since a soul had even seen him
he held his thumb out humbly towards the sky
a trucker passed him standin, waitin patiently
pulled over there and offered him a ride

and the diesel cab, it felt just like a cradle
it hummed along while bobby sang the blues
he closed his eyes and thought about a harpoon playin
and a wild, tangled girl that he once knew

live hard, live loud, do not wait, live now

he fixed a fence post at a ranch in chillicothe
they fed him well and let him ride ole adeline
she used to be the fastest in the county
but like bobby, now preferred to take her time

that dusty summer spun him through the prairies
takin each ride just to see where it would go
he only knew the nighttime from the daytime
when the sun would rest its head upon the westbound road

and the people that he met would ask him questions
“old man, what you doin thumbin ’round?”
his eyes would sparkle grinnin, and he’d shake his head
he’d say, “it’s the fool who thinks he knows where he is bound”

live hard, live loud, do not wait, live now

the sons of silence still did business through the clubhouse
bobby’d run them favors way back when
they said that we can ride with you through the rockies
but at the junction you are on your own my friend

he chased the sunshine through the pass on jr’s softail
dreamin of the five pound bass he caught when he was ten
and every other memory in his lifetime
swirlin like that colorado wind

and he ate some, but was never really hungry
he slept when he was hangin by a string
he told everyone he passed, “life comes and goes so fast
and ain’t our breath the most amazing, joyous thing?”

live hard, live loud, do not wait, live now

he found himself in parsons, california
holdin court at pappy’s at the bar
janie took the hidden bottle out from the back
they reminisced a bit while bobby played guitar

late night he confessed that he was dyin
“this cancer seems to have the best of me
but i’d rather go out walkin in the sunshine
than lyin inside strapped to some machine”

and he woke the next day early with the sunrise
hummin softly, walkin towards the sand
they say they saw him headed out ’round black top canyon
and no one’s ever heard from him again

years down the road a group of desert hikers
found some bones under a twisted, spiny tree
and a message carved into a bedroll
these final words of bobby mcgee

live hard, live loud, do not wait, live now