Old Thirsty

When I was a just a kid this happened to me Living on a ranch in southern New Mexico, nest to a railroad The Sun still had plenty of Jalepeno in it, was late September Dad and I were working on a water well, soon became three Like slow moving warmed over death, a old hobo came off the railroad A sad sight as I remember He had been walking for 3 days out of El Paso His lucky penny was worn thin, nothing to eat or drink He asked Dad, "You have any water Sir, God I am thirsty" We took him to the ranch, soon he became our best amigo He was no fool, could make a Harvard professor think Never really knew his name, we just called him Thirsty Dad hired him and Mom put plenty of food on his plate All he asked for was a bed, smokes and coffee In little or no time he was working all day Never complained, just dealing with his fate A bum no, a hobo yes, that was old Thirsty A King Of The Road type of a man, just his way He was the big brother I never had, I was the son he left behind He worked all day long, then play ball with me after school I learned a lot from that man, a lot about life Riding in a boxcar was just his kind His railroad was The Golden Rule Good as gold and sharp as any knife Cold nights around an old wood stove with coffee in hand Telling railroad stories, that is what he taught me The rules of the road, the hobo way If I ever had to ride a boxcar around this land Then one day, Thirsty just had to be free Boxcar fever set in, Old Thirsty heard the old train that day