He was standing by the highway
With a sign that just read Mother
When he heard a driver coming
About a half a mile away
So he held the sign up higher
So no decent soul could miss it
It was ten degrees or colder
Down by Boulder Dam that day

He was raised up in Milwaukee
Though he never was that famous
He was just a road musician
To the taverns he did go
Singing songs about the rambling
The loving girls and gambling
How the world fell on his shoulder
Back in Boulder, I don't know

It was out in Arizona
And he heard the lady listening
To each song that he was singing
To each line that he would write
So he sat down by her table
And they talked about the weather
986 and rising down
By Boulder Dam that day

And she told him she would take him
For a ride in the morning sun
Back in Boulder he had told her
I don't know when I've had a better friend

Now he's traded off his Martin
But his troubles are not over
His feet are nearly frozen
And the sun is sinking low
Won't you listen to me brother
If you ever loved your mother
Just pull off on the shoulder
If you're going Milwaukee way

It's ten degrees and getting colder
Down by Boulder Dam today