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{intro} 
 

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He was a long tall stranger from way down south where he'd left his life behind 
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He had a big old Gibson and a pickup truck and Shenandoah eyes 
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And I remember him sitting in that local bar where I earned my pay each night 
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Singing my songs to empty chairs and going home half tight 
 

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So the nights rolled by like headlights shining on a lonesome strip of tar 
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I kept his words of kindness close to me like a pick on my guitar; And we 
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Talked about the singers and the songs we loved and the songs we'd most forgot 
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In that run-down bar they'd make last call and I'd never want to stop 
 

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'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams 
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With my cowboy boots and my old six-string 
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  Hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars 
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When I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine 
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Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a helluva lot like me 
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(me) {instrumental} 
 
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 
 

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{violin solo}              {harmonica solo} 
 
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 
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Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a hell of a lot like me 
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Like the star that he'd always be, he looked a hell of a lot like me 
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(me) {instrumental}