The Ballad Of Abraham Jones

One day not long ago in a place of poor renown
I found myself in this one-horse town
In conversation with a drifter trying to settle down

He was something of a lost soul but a kindred spirit
It wasn't long before we got deep into it
And spent a hard night I soon won't forget

To unburden his soul and share his worries
He sought to swap notes compare life stories
Talk about faded goals and our past glories

We talked and drank more than we'd care to admit
He had the hands of a builder but the heart of a poet
Who might've given up long ago but somehow would never quit

He talked of the highs and lows and hitting rock bottom
And made jokes of his dreams of superstardom
And how he couldn't help but always overstay his welcome

He'd made a home but then couldn't stay
So he set out on the transcontinental highway
Trying his luck where he could but looking back every day

He had an estranged wife and a wayward son
His best laid plans having come undone
But at least he said he now answered to no one

He was ever so briefly a movie actor
Then suddenly just not what they were after
And every time he could only blame the casting director

So his Hollywood career didn't get very far
But he still saw himself as something of a star
While living paycheck to paycheck and out of his car

He'd moved to LA to seek his fame and fortune
But it all came to an end much too soon
Now all he can do is just howl at the moon

Somewhere back when it all went wrong
He suddenly found it so hard to get along
Went from being so rock & roll to a country & western song

He'd never mastered the art of self-promotion
Suffering a degree of paranoia and persecution
But wanted no part of a sub-culture or a counter-revolution

He told me the lesson that no one ever learns
That life is a series of unpredictable turns
And you can never shake off the heartache that burns

That he'd learned the hard way to receive you need to give
Something we do find counterintuitive
But in the end there really is no other way to live

We talked about God and his guardian angel
His personal demons and the work of the devil
And all the many things that drove him to the bottle

His eyes betrayed a sad resignation
Maybe now is the time for that conversation
But he won't go to church while crying out for absolution

He'd lived his life with his back to the wall
But as a way of trying to justify it all
He wanted one last hurrah before the final curtain call

He told how words had hurt him more than sticks and stones
But he lived with a tired mind and aching bones
As I listened in real time to the ballad of Abraham Jones

He was a relic of some other time and place
Always had a fixed jaded look upon his face
He'd lost his sense of humour and wonder and indeed personal space

He rambled on and on ad nauseum
While I did my best to keep a finger in the dam
But then he said, "So you're English" and I said, "Sorry yes I am"

He was long on memory but short on tact
Saying things designed for maximum impact
In contrast to my tendency to talk in the abstract

But I told him I used to be something of a man on a mission
Though I never treaded the boards or trained as a musician
I can still sing about life, love and the human condition

Cos we're all lovers and losers and fighters and friends
Old fashioned people coveting the latest trends
And all too easily mocking how the arc of the universe bends

We both wondered how we'd gotten there
What had been luck and what had just been unfair
But agreed that we'd gone to great lengths to go nowhere

So there we sat two diminished leading lights
Who once had all the answers well within our sights
Sitting back and setting the whole damn world to rights

We knocked back shots of tequila and lime
And smoked something then still a minor crime
And even had some fun pretending to have a good time

Then we headed for the exit and the cold night air
Stood for a moment with our souls laid bare
Then shook hands and agreed we were never there

He was a quick study and became a fast friend
Though I knew I would never see him again
But I am still trying to find that film he was in

Fare thee well Abraham Jones
Godspeed Abraham Jones
Goodnight Abe Jones
Goodnight Abe Jones
Goodnight Abraham Jones