C
See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans,
F C
Wearing yesterday's misfortunes like a smile--
F C Am
Once he had a future full of money, love, and dreams,
D7 G
Which he spent like they was going out of style--
C
And he keeps right on a-changing for the better or the worse,
F G C
Searching for a shrine he's never found--
F C
Never knowing if believing is a blessing or a curse,
F G C
Or if the going up was worth the coming down--

F
He's a poet, he's a picker--
C
He's a prophet, he's a pusher--
G C
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned--
F C
He's a walking contradiction, partly truth and partly fiction,
G C
Taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home.

D
He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars,
G D
And he's traded in tomorrow for today--
G D Bm
Running from his devils, Lord, and reaching for the stars,
E7 A
And losing all he's loved along the way--
D
But if this world keeps right on turning for the better or the worse,
G A D
And all he ever gets is older and around--
G D
From the rocking of the cradle to the rolling of the hearse,
G A D
The going up was worth the coming down--

G
He's a poet, he's a liar--
D
He's a prophet, he's a dreamer--
A D
He's a pilgrim and a preacher, and a problem when he's stoned--
G D
He's a walking contradiction, partly truth - mostly fiction,
A D
Taking every wrong direction on his lonely way back home.
A D
There's a lot of wrong directions on that lonely way back home.