Utah Phillips
The Goodnight-Loving Trail
Too old to wrangle or ride on the swing
You beat the triangle and you curse everything
If dirt was a kingdom, they you'd be the king
On the Goodnight Trail, on the Loving Trail
Our Old Woman's lonesome tonight
Your French harp blows like the low bawling calf
It's a wonder the wind don't tear off your skin
Get in there and blow out the light
With your snake oil and herbs and your liniments, too
You can do anything that a doctor can do
Except find a cure for your own god damned stew
On the Goodnight Trail, on the Loving Trail
Our Old Woman's lonesome tonight
Your French harp blows like the low bawling calf
It's a wonder the wind don't tear off your skin
Get in there and blow out the light
The campfire's gone out and the coffee's all gone
The boys are all up and they're raising the dawn
You're still sitting there, lost in a song
On the Goodnight Trail, on the Loving Trail
Our Old Woman's lonesome tonight
Your French harp blows like the low bawling calf
It's a wonder the wind don't tear off your skin
Get in there and blow out the light
I know that some day I'll be just the same
Wearing an apron instead of a name
There's nothing can change it, there's no one to blame
For the desert's a book writ in lizards and sage
Easy to look like an old torn out page
Faded and cracked with the colors of age
On the Goodnight Trail, on the Loving Trail
Our Old Woman's lonesome tonight
Your French harp blows like the low bawling calf
It's a wonder the wind don't tear off your skin
Get in there and blow out the light