I got Steve Earle's song "Pilgrim" stuck in my head for a long time. I wrote this in answer to it. Could have gone one or other of two ways. In the end, it went both.
lyrics
There’s only one way down this lonesome road, boys.
There’s only one way down this lonesome road.
There’s only one way – hope it’s the right way –
There’s only one way down this lonesome road.
With the sun on your face, the road is easy.
With the wind to your back, the road is easy.
But when the burning sun climbs high and that hot wind blows you dry,
You just keep on keeping on ‘cause life ain’t easy.
When the road gets hard, you just keep walking.
When the path gets steep, you just keep walking.
‘Cause if you stop too long, my friend, you’ll find it’s hard to start again,
So though you’re four sheets to the wind, you must keep walking.
Many a man has walked this way, and many a man has tried
To find his way to the light of the Lord, but many a man has died.
Many a man has sought salvation, many a man has prayed
For the strength to walk the straight road, but many a man has strayed
‘Cause there’s nothing but an empty road ahead, boys,
And nothing but a vacant sky around,
And only the answers we construct here
Are the only answers to be found
Between the sky and the ground.
There’s only one way down this lonesome road,
Only one way down this lonesome road.
There’s only one way – let’s hope it’s the right way –
There’s only one way down this lonesome road.
But we’re all pilgrims on this road, boys,
Even if we don’t know where we’re bound,
And we’ll keep on down this road together
Though there are no answers to be found
Between the sky and the ground.
credits
from Peregrine Songs,
released December 31, 2013
Words & music: DP Murphy
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