When Ya Come, Darlin', Bring My Guitar

He strummed an old guitar every night at sunset
Watching that old red ball dipsy-doodle behind the hills
His mind sometimes travellin’ life’s long road
Wasn’t much of a guitar player but he kept at it

Liked smokin’ a bowl, blowin’ smoke rings into the desert
Had fun thinkin’ the coyote’s used ‘em for hula hoops
The old VW bus was still runnin’, but walkin’ was more like it
A long beard hung off him like a shaggy snowball
Last time he shaved it off damn near scared himself to death

Some nights he’d sit on the porch and write poetry in the moonlight
Had a Folgers can full ‘a pencils and a couple ‘a dogeared notebooks
One night as the Joshua trees were talkin’ ‘bout getting’ a little rain
And the wife perched herself down and was fussin’ over the cat
He wrote this:

“Never did amount to much when all was said and done
Picked a rose one day and the darn thing’s still in bloom
Ain’t got a helluva lot out here in the scorchin’ sun
But planted my roots in this old, hard soil and this’ll be my tomb

The old gal sittin’ next to me is still as pretty as a belle
How the hell it happened I don’t rightly know
Why should a guy like me have this luck for such a spell?
Living with a cactus flower, faintly dusted by the snow

Got lotsa cats and a couple ‘a dogs, always have, always will
Ain’t nothin’ warms the innards like a kitty across the tummy
Had one old dog who passed away, is he out there in the hills?
Another one who likes ice cream, we should ‘a named him “Dummy”

Try to get along with folks, no matter the color or creed
Ain’t got no use for those with malice in their hearts
A long time ago, God came along and planted a bunch of seeds
And with water of love a handful grew into many diverse parts

Won’t be long ‘fore the old guitar will start collectin’ dust
A shootin’ star cross a crescent moon appeared two nights ago
My darlin’ can sell the VW or just let the old bus rust
I’m just hopin’ my exit’s fast, not painful, sick and slow,”

He was buried today in the dusty, red clay right here on his own land
Some folks in the city said the old boy had gotten a mite dippy
His beloved had a tombstone carved from a hardwood stand
It read: “My dearest John, I’ll soon be along…wait for me, Old Hippie”