Walter

Walter was my grandpa's dog & I thought he was my own.
He used to chase the herd of
Barbado we kept outside my grandpa's home.
I'd join him & we'd holler at the ghost moon 'til it shone –
Just rolling in the dirt & running wild in San Antone.

Back then I couldn't drive away, I'd run or dream I'd fly away.
I always seemed to find the road back home.
I thought Walter, he was leading me,
those days beneath the live oak trees
But he was only chasing rabbits & I did it on my own.

Singing Li-la-li, lie-la-lie, sometimes it takes you by surprise –
The time it takes to write a simple song.
Sifting through the sands of time, like souvenirs you've left behind,
You can't always decide what you remember.

I can picture my first night in jail, bad coffee & a crowded cell.
The first time I rolled a reefer up or kissed a pretty mouth.
But sitting here with all my thoughts of all I've done & all
I've lost I can't recall the day we put ol' Walter in the ground.

Singing Li-la-li, lie-la-lie, sometimes it takes you by surprise –
The time it takes to write a simple song.
Sifting through the sands of time, like souvenirs you've left behind,
You can't always decide what you remember.

Now my mind races like a river through the creek beds & the lime.
& I'm seeking out those memories I guess I left too far behind.
I swore I saw that ol' gray dog just sniffing at the ground
around the birch tree in my
grandpa's yard right where we laid him down.

Singing Li-la-li, lie-la-lie, sometimes it takes you by surprise –
The time it takes to write a simple song.
Sifting through the sands of time, like souvenirs you've left behind,
You can't always decide what you remember.