SILVER JOHN

tune: Rosin the Beau

1) You ask me what my name is
   and what I'm a-doin here
   they call me John the Wanderer
   or John the Balladeer

                Long is the road on which I fare
                Over the world afar
                The mountains here and the valleys there
                Me and this old guitar

2) I've sung at shows and parties
   I've sung them near and far
   all up and down and to and fro
   with my silver-strung guitar

3) Sometimes I travel on busses
   sometimes I travel on planes
   sometimes I travel a-walking
   on country roads and lanes

                The places I've been were places, yes
                the things that I've seen were things
                with this old guitar my soul to bless
                by the sound of its' silver strings

4) In the homes of the rich and the mighty
   sometimes I've laid me down
   sometimes on the side of a mountain
   or the cold and lonesome ground

                Nobody here in this little room
                nobody here but me
                I'm by myself and I'm with myself
                and that's how I'm apt to be

5) I've made up my songs and my ballads
   and sung them both far and near
   but best of all, I've whispered
   with only myself to hear

                Out yonder the sun's a-risin up
                a-sheddin it's foggy light
                and on time goes and nobody knows
                where I'm likely to be tonight

all lyrics by Manly Wade Wellman
from: "The Lost and the Lurking" and "After Dark"