the real thing

he wore a song around his neck, like some medal of honor, he carried his wisdom like a knife, an empty pocket was a temporary chain, knowing you've got it coming, ain't no crime, every blue note that rolled off his tongue, you could feel his soul twisting right in two, nobody knew where he came from, ah but everybody knew, everybody knew, he was the real thing, no doubt about it, the kind that you remember when they're gone, the real thing, put here for a reason, we knew someday the whole world, was going to know his name, he was the real thing, she whispered in his ear, and he heard the thunder, singing 'bout a world he never knew, head spinning round, he began to wonder, was he made to love her, or born to sing the blues, he searched inside him for an answer, but all he found was a troubled mind, he left her somewhere on the blue highway, oh it wasn't just another love that he left behind, it was the real thing, no doubt about it, the kind that you remember when it's gone, the real thing, not like passion's fire, but a burning, smoldering, eternal flame, it was the real thing, and sometimes at night he longs for her whisper, but he hides from the dawn, 'cause he always wakes to find her gone, in some broken down dressing room in some major city, the thunder plays an old familiar tune, he spies a face of a distant angel, outside, beneath the halo moon, finger on the trigger, needle in the vein, one more bullet, it might be your last ride, this is ain't no no-show, this ain't no nervous breakdown, and it sure as hell ain't the time to let the fool decide, this is the real thing, no doubt about it, who cares if they love you and you're gone, this is the real thing, so you were put here for a reason, but what gives you the right to quit when you're tired, anyway boy, this ain't no game, this is the real thing, he wore a song around his neck, like some medal of honor, he carried his wisdom like a knife