Ballad of theWandering Troubadour

Ballad of the Wandering Troubadour

(written around 2004 I think. Photos of me by Kev Taylor and Dave Morgan)

I’ve been a wandering troubadour it’s part of what I do

I’ve sung my songs to all kinds of folks and I have listened too

It kept me sane when I felt the pain could somehow overcome

Cause when I returned I found that I had learned there is good in everyone

In the villages of Normandy with my friends who live down there

Talking rock ‘n’ roll on calvodos when there’s music in the air

A tango guitar in the pastis bar on a Barcelona night

Almost made me cry I felt so alive I said man I feel alright

Cause I’m not one for waving flags you know that’s not who I am

And kindness lies in peoples eyes in each and every land

cold or warm in sun or storm you know each place has its charms

But when I feel alone well I know that home is in my baby’s arms

Way up north in Finland you know the nightime don’t exist

Drinking with the dead down in Mexico made you swear that souls exist

There’s a cake shop down in Kassel man I swear that you could die

I saw snow fall in the desert from a clear Nevada sky

When I was down and out in Paris everything just seemed so clear

With the streetgirls and the homeless and them buskers from Algiers 

Man I got more education sleeping on that station floor

Than I had gained in schooling in the 20 years before

Cause I’m not one for waving flags you know that’s not who I am

And kindness lies in peoples eyes in each and every land

Cold or warm in sun or storm you know each place has its charms

But when I feel alone well I know that home is in my baby’s arms

I am not a wise man something I will never be

But the autumn leaves of England still look beautiful to me

If I have learned one simple truth as through this life I pass

You can find the good in everyone and they will half fill your glass

Cause I’m not one for waving flags you know that’s not who I am

And kindness lies in peoples eyes in each and every land

Cold or warm in sun or storm you know each place has its charms

But when I feel alone well I know that home is in my baby’s arms