If I should find space in your memoryonce the seconds have drained from my timeI pray I'm remembered just as I wasI hope I'm not placed too highNot keen on leaving a saintly reputeeven saints have sinned in their heartsDon't think the bad or the good of meJust keep them as fat as they areRemember that I was giving--but don't forget that my temper was hotRemember I looked on the bright side--but don't forget that at times...

I know why the sky rolls on the edge of New OrleansThe blue billows like the waves of PontchartrainAngry waves, fervent ones, rise like dead from turquoise gravesCollapsing clouds with the force of hurricanesEve's approaching; rush, rush rushMust make arrival 'fore night comesThe ceiling's black; no stars, no moonShadows chase the remains of the sunStill in spite of the night I will journey on westTo deliver my daddy's bo...

Mother tried her very best to tote my bones with care And sustain me with bread and good intentions, it was all that she could afford. She worried with each passing minute that my muscles were wasting away That my heart was not beating at its fullest strength That, like the others, I would not stay On nights when papa lay in a 'cross town ditch entertained by moonshine dreams Mother lay in the still on her cold, dirt bed...