I met a young girl, down in Mexico
She went along the way
We hitched a ride across the blue sky
And headed down the day
She asked for my name, as I came up
I didn’t know what to say
She called me love as I came down
Down at her legs, where I did stay
Now you tell me, what is the force
That attracts a girl
To such a fine old specimen
Who likes just to play
Now I’m telling you, here’s my thought
You need not beauty nor wealth
I came across many young women there
That I now know pretty well
And then said the girl, with a certain smile
Oh, you’re surly just like me
I wander this world not knowing why
While I keep searching for my misery
She then stopped and told me her life was in a rut
Running and playing in the fields
‘Till one day a man come into the light
And then she slowly disappeared
Now you tell me, what’s a man to do
In such a crazy circumstance
Should he get out to the field and run with no end
Should he stay and learn to prance
Well, I did what I did, you’ll have to figure it out
I’m not telling you a thing
I’m coming out of the shadows, into the light
Down again, your way
Tom Heyman documents life in San Francisco circa 2023, refusing to succumb to easy characterization & instead capturing the city’s nuance. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 22, 2023
Tanya Donnelly, Wreckless Eric, Rosanne Cash, contribute cover versions of John Wesley Harding’s songs for this charitable compilation. Bandcamp New & Notable May 6, 2021