A couple of years back, I come across a great

And wasted friend of mine in the hallway of a recording studio

And while he was reciting some poetry to me that he'd written

I saw that he was about a step away from dyin'

And I couldn't help but wonder why

And the lines of this song occurred to me

I'm happy to say he's no longer wasted and he's got him a good woman And I'd like to dedicate this to John and June

Who helped show me how to beat the devil It was winter time in Nashville, down on music city row

And I was lookin' for a place to get myself out of the cold

To warm the frozen feelin' that was eatin' at my soul

Keep the chilly wind off my guitar My thirsty wanted whiskey, my hungry needed beans

But it'd been of month of paydays since I'd heard that eagle scream

So with a stomach full of empty and a pocket full of dreams

I left my pride and stepped inside a bar Actually, I guess you'd could call it a Tavern

Cigarette smoke to the ceiling and sawdust on the floor

Friendly shadows I saw that there was just one old man sittin' at the bar

And in the mirror, I could see him checkin' me and my guitar

An' he turned and said, "Come up here boy, and show us what you are"

I said, "I'm dry", he bought me a beer He nodded at my guitar and said, "It's a tough life, ain't it?"

I just looked at him, he said, "You ain't makin' any money, are you?"

I said, "You've been readin' my mail"

He just smiled and said, "Let me see that guitar

I've got something you oughta hear", then he laid it on me "If you waste your time a-talkin' to the people who don't listen

To the things that you are sayin', who do you think's gonna hear

And if you should die explainin' how the things that they complain about

Are things they could be changin', who do you think's gonna care?" There were other lonely singers in a world turned deaf and blind

Who were crucified for what they tried to show

And their voices have been scattered by the swirling winds of time

'Cause the truth remains that no-one wants to know Well, the old man was a stranger, but I'd heard his song before

Back when failure had me locked out on the wrong side of the door

When no-one stood behind me but my shadow on the floor

And lonesome was more than a state of mind You see, the devil haunts a hungry man

If you don't wanna join him, you got to beat him

I ain't sayin' I beat the devil, but I drank his beer for nothing

Then I stole his song And you still can hear me singin' to the people who don't listen

To the things that I am sayin', prayin' someone's gonna hear

And I guess I'll die explainin' how the things that they complain about

Are things they could be changin', hopin' someone's gonna care I was born a lonely singer, and I'm bound to die the same

But I've got to feed the hunger in my soul

And if I never have a nickle, I won't ever die ashamed

'Cause I don't believe that no-one wants to know