The Ballad of Jamie Bee

Jamie ran aground out in Ohio
Wife left for the great unknown
He says he's gonna take to the high road
She will find a place alone

He says he just could not make her happy
That he never tried so hard before
He'd wake up first and make the coffee
Now the mornings were like war

There's a barroom for every way the wind blows
And a harness for every mother's son
You pull your own weight or else it pulls you
It gets harder the longer that you run

Jamie's from the last great breed of roadmen
Woody, Jack, and Kerouac and such
But here was a woman he would die for
Beauty no road could ever touch

The town was nearly famous for the glassworks
The factory where they made hoods for the klan
There's a football hall of famer in the phonebook
There's only trouble for an empty man

There's a barroom for every way the wind blows
And temptation in every substance known
You pull your own weight or else it pulls you
It gets harder the older that you've grown

At home in the harley-ridden poolhalls
I guess it's best they never had those kids
Closer to the outlaws then the in-laws
They said Jamie's heart don't break but I know it did
They said Jamie's heart don't break but I know it did

He will find some refuge in his music
And a long shot that they will reconcile
The meantime is a mean time and he knows it
Til the day he's back upon the pile

Now there's headlights heading from Ohio
And there's teardrops saltier than rain
There's taillights to tell a tale still tender
And a cold wind blowing through the night
There's a cold wind blowing through the night