Because He Was Only a Tramp
McGee Brothers| Originale | Versione della Carter Family, sempre risalente agli anni 20. |
| BECAUSE HE WAS ONLY A TRAMP I'm a man broken down without credit or cash My clothes are all ragged and torn; Not a friend have I in this dreary world I wish I had never been born. In vain I search for employment Sleeping out on the ground cold and damp I'm stared in face by starvation God pity the life of a tramp. Last night down on the L&N Railroad (*) There's a man most hungry and cold. An empty boxcar stood still on the track He jumped in and closed up the door. He had rode three miles in an empty boxcar Till a brakeman came round with his light: He was thrown from the train and was killed by the rails Because he was only a tramp. Kind friends, I want you all to remember That every poor man is not a tramp: There's many a true heart still beating Beneath the old coat of a tramp. Poor Lazarus lay at the rich man's door And the dogs came and licked his sores: But at last his spirit took its sweet flight Where there's room and bread for the poor. | THE BROKEN DOWN TRAMP I'm a broken down tramp without money My clothes are all tattered and torn And I am so sad and so lonely I wish I had never been born All through this wide world I have wandered Inquiring for something to do But whenever I ask for a job of work They say they have none for a tramp Now drink was the cause of my downfall And the money I had I bought rum And the friends that were mine when I had it Now pass by and call me a bum Now don't be too hasty to judge me As I drift along with the tide My clothes may be ragged and dirty But a clean heart is beating inside One night on a dark lonely railroad A hobo all hungry and cold Saw an empty boxcar on the siding He climbed in and closed up the door Six miles he had rode on the railway When the brakeman came 'round with his light He was shoved from the car and was killed by the train Because he was only a tramp Now young men, let this be a warning For all you who long for the road Better stick to the straight life and don't be like me A poor bum to die in the cold |
(*) La Louisville & Nashville Railroad |
