He was a long tall stranger from way down south where he'd left his life behind He had a big old Gibson and a pickup truck And Shenandoah eyes And I remember him sitting in that local bar where I earned my pay each night Singing my songs to empty chairs and going home half tight So the nights rolled by like headlights shining on a lonesome strip of tar I kept his word of kindness close to me like a pick on my guitar And we talked about the singers and the songs we loved And the songs we'd most forgot In that rundown bar they'd make last call And I'd never want to stop Chorus: Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams With my cowboy boots and my old six string hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars when I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine like the star that he longed to be he looked a hell of a lot like me Well he'd played a lot of places where the only wages were food and beer for free No fancy licks but he had him a gift for the kinds of songs he'd ding But you do what you can to be a satisfied man Just to have your piece of mind So he gave it all up for a government job where the paychecks come on time So now he comes to the bar to hear me play guitar And to share a drink or two And we sit swapping tales of where we've been and what we'd rather do There's a wealth of dangers when you're talking to strangers And I meet them all the time But my heart knew better than my head when I looked into those yes Chorus: Well maybe I'll quit when I've got me a kid and a place to call my own But tonight there ain't nobody there waiting up for me at home It's a helluva way to live from day to day Not knowing where you're bound But the look in his eyes made me realize I was glad for the life I'd found Chorus