[Verse 1]
He rode the rails since the Great Depression
Fifty years out on the skids
He said, "You don't cross nobody
You'll be all right out here, kid"

[Verse 2]
Left my family in Pennsylvania
Searching for work, I hit the road
I met Frank in East Texas
In a freight yard blown through with snow

[Verse 3]
From New Mexico to Colorado
California to the sea
Frank, he showed me the ropes, sir
Just till I could get back on my feet

[Verse 4]
I hoed sugar beets outside of Firebaugh
I picked the peaches from the Marysville trees
They bunked us in a barn just like animals
Me and a hundred others just like me

[Verse 5]
We split up come the springtime
I never seen Frank again
Except one rainy night, he blew by me on a grainer
Shouted my name and disappeared in the rain and wind
[Verse 6]
They found him shot dead outside of Stockton
His body lying on a muddy hill
Nothing taken, nothing stolen
Somebody killing just to kill

[Verse 7]
Late that summer, I was rolling through the plains of Texas
A vision passed before my eyes
A small house sitting track-side
With the glow of the savior's beautiful light

[Verse 8]
A woman stood cooking in the kitchen
Kid sat at a table with his old man
Now I wonder, does my son miss me
Does he wonder where I am?

[Verse 9]
Tonight I pick my campsite carefully
Outside the Sacramento yard
Gather some wood and light a fire
In the early winter dark

[Verse 10]
Wind whistling cold, I pull my coat around me
Heat some coffee and stare into the black night
I lie awake, I lie awake, sir
With my machete by my side
[Verse 11]
My Jesus, your gracious love and mercy
Tonight, I'm sorry, could not fill
My heart like one good rifle
And the name of who I ought to kill