Long Time Gone

My parents raised me tenderly, I was their only son My mind got mixed with ramblin' when I was all so young And I left my home the first time when I was 12 and one I'm a long time a-comin', Maw, an' I'll be a long time gone On the Western side of Texas, on the Texas plains I tried to find a job of work, but they said I was young of age My eyes they burned when I had, "Go home where you belong!" I'm a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone I remember when I was ramblin', around with the carnival trains Different towns, different people, somehow they're all the same I remember children's faces best, I remember travelin' on I'm a long time a-comin', I'll be a long time gone I once loved a fair young maid, an' I ain't too big to tell If she broke my heart a single time, she broke it ten or 12 I walked and talked all by myself, I did not tell no one I'm a long time a-comin', babe, an' I'll be a long time gone Many times by the highway side, I tried to flag a ride With bloodshot eyes and gritting teeth, I'd watch the cars roll by The empty air hung in my head, I was thinkin' all day long I'm a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone You might see me on your crossroads when I'm a-passin' through Remember me how you wished to as I'm a-driftin' from your view I ain't got the time to think about it, I got too much to get done Well, I'm a long time comin', an' I'll be a long time gone If I can't help somebody with a word or song If I can't show somebody, they are travelin' wrong But I know I ain't no prophet an' I ain't no prophet's son I'm just a long time a-comin' an' I'll be a long time gone So you can have your beauty, it's skin deep and it only lies And you can have your youth, it'll rot before your eyes Just give to me my gravestone with it clearly carved upon "I was a long time a-comin' an' I'll be a long time gone"