From Maine to San Francisco
Four years, I've rode the rails
Coast to coast and border to border
I've been, about every jail
One night around the Golden Gate I caught a freight
And laying in the bottom of the boxcar was a man
Named Billy Jack Washburn
Through the rain and the wind the train was flying
I knew the man was laying there dying
I had to try to save a man
With nothing but my two bare hands
And I did
He was just littl' kid (Just littl' kid)
So me and Billy Jack
We laid around a few Hobo comps for a while
Till Billy Jack got his strength back
And the sunshine
Gave him back his smile
We decided that we would leave and head on down to New Orleans
And we did
Me and the kid (Me and the kid)
But things weren't like they were before
I never had a friend jumpin' from the door
Treted him like I was his dad and give him everything I had
Which was nothing
Except the love for a friend and a friend he was
But I lost him (Lost him)
Billy Jack Washburn was his name
I lost him down around Jacksonville when he fell from the train
I rolled off and I hit the ground
I picked his body up and carried it all the way back to town
He was a friend of mine (Friend of mine)
So there I am in Macon, Georgia
To help lay Billy Jack on the ground
And by the way Macon, Georgia
Is my home town
When I picked his bill fold up
I saw a picture of her mama and her name
And I cried like a baby (And I cried)
Cos' his mama and my mama were the same
Well I haven't been home in 26 years
And when I do come home
It has to be like this
Sometimes old lady fate She deals
A terrible kiss
Billy Jack Washburn was his so called name
I lost him down around Jacksonville when he fell from the train
But I lost more than a friend (more than a friend)
I'll never see my brother again (a-gain)