3. He Walked On - Tim O'Brien

He Walked On
Songwriter : Tim O’Brien
No Bad Ham Music / Admin by Bluewater Music / ASCAP


He went out and walked the streets no one knew his name
He’d been here many times before but now was not the same
Music spilled from windows onto the sparkling air
A falling leaf came drifting and caught in his hair
And he walked on, he walked on

He came to the corner where five points used to meet
Past the Chinese grocery _ and on up the street
Brand new buildings going up and old ones coming down
Delivery trucks were rolling, spreading smoke around
And he walked on, he walked on

Maybe sometime later he’d try to write it down
Maybe find some old guitar to recreate the sound
Feel the grit between his fingers, eat food that tasted real
Hold his head and heart some way so he could really feel
And he walked on, he walked on

Then waiting for the light to change somehow his peace was shattered
Still smelled the fumes and heard the cries but now they hardly mattered
He thought of how preachers speak of heaven and of hell
He wondered was he in between but it was hard to tell
And he walked on, he kept on, he walked on

So much of this life he’d never really understand
How you could lose the grip on things you held right in your hand
Three hundred sixty different points that you can try to view
He never found the ending, there was always something new
and he walked on, he walked on

Maybe sometime later he’d try to write it down
Maybe find some old guitar to recreate the sound
Feel the grit between his fingers, eat food that tasted real
Hold his heart and heart some way so he could really feel
And he walked on, he walked on

He went out and walked the streets no one knew his name
He’d been here many times before but now was not the same
And he walked on, he walked on