I was brought up to be a president or some kind of king
With folks on their knees below me
And a May Day parade in my name
And my face on the back of a coin in a paper cup
This life ain't enough

But here I now stand with half of a joint in my hand
And visions of a storybook land
Where the music's so low I can't make out the words
I'll pretend that I've heard someone call
From outside the wall

I've been to Vegas, all right
I've lit up the desert behind my tail lights
And I've been around enough now to learn
It's a strange time to be a strangеr

I've got a steam enginе mind
Just fire me up and I'll drill through the night
But I've been around enough now to see
It pays to be more like John Henry

If you are my brother I'd put no other before you
You can pillage and plunder the villages through
But what can you fit in your tomb
Besides roses and gloom?
I've got a price on my head
You won't be the first one to wish I was dead
I've just been around enough now to choose
The bets I ought better to lose

I've got my ancestors' blood
I could follow the footsteps they left in the mud
But I've been around enough now to know
You can wash your feet but never your soul

So, if you are my brother, I'd put no other before you
You can pillage and plunder the villages through
But what can you fit in your tomb
Besides roses and gloom?