Utah Phillips Follow

I was there when they opened the boxcar
and found him stone dead on the floor
though thumbin' and bummin' was all of our trade
no one had seen him before
He wore the face of a stranger
lost and unseen in a crowd
and he looked so small as we carried him down
wrapped in a newspaper shroud

CHORUS
The wind blows cold in Wyoming
The stars shine clear and bright
if you don't wake up tomorrow at all
I guess it's old buddy goodnight

His hair was the color of winter
all streaked with iron and coal
and all you could see in his soft prairie eyes
was the wind and the grass and the snow
the backs of his hands were like roadmaps
the lines on his face were the same
and on his left arm a faded tattoo
bordered a rose and a name

CHORUS

I don't know where he came from
his train was a U.P. freight
If there's someone waitin' for him down the line
He'll be a little bit late
So give him a line in your paper
and here's what I want you to say
There's some things worse than dyin' alone
One of 'em's living that way

CHORUS