Sidewalk
Hobo 
by Tony Joe White 
recording of 1982 
from 
Hans Theessink & Gerry Lockran Cushioned For A Soft Ride Inside (Autogram) 
His footsteps echoed softly through the early morning hour 
The slowness of his move should be a warning 
From the trash he digs a pair of socks and yesterday's flowers 
What a way to start a monday-morning 
He might have been a carpenter at one time in his life 
Built a lot of homes but never had one 
Or he might have been a poet who'd come upon some hard times 
And all that he had lived was just them sad poems 
He might have been a singer whit a lot of promise 
Cigarettes and whisky ruined his throat 
And it's hard to remember even a simple tune 
Or the words to the songs that he had wrote 
Take me back to Memphis, I've got to do some things 
I've been in this city way too long 
And it lays heavy on my mind when I see another man 
Having to make the sidewalk, having to make the sidewalk his home