The night was long, a hollow echo Of tired songs and borrowed time Maybe the dawn is pulling me forward Or I'm just done with leaving it behind New Orleans, you're a grand, cruel theater I love you, though I don't fit your part Your Dixieland isn't my rhythm And your hunger has hollowed my heart Give me steel for these worn-out fingers A steak and a glass of black grain A partner to sway in the lamplight And shoes that don't welcome the rain I'm done with the neon of Nashville Where every note carries a cost They tell you exactly when you're ready Then they count everything you've lost I'm finished with Memphis' shadows Where the clubs are as small as their pride Barred by the shade of my brothers While the music is dying inside And if they do grant me the spotlight It's only to settle the tab for the rye All I crave is the breath of the music To survive on the soul of a string And if it's in old Louisiana Then I'll have the world on a wing But my bones are weary of wandering Of the road and its infinite gray Knocking on doors like a phantom Begging for permission to play Since the day I fled from Saint Louis I don't rest long, I don't stay long I have to play just to keep on breathing In a world that keeps me away