GRAPES ON THE VINE
(Steve Gillette and Charles John Quarto)

The are songs that birds don't sing to people
Secrets that keep right through to the end
There are heroes that hide until forever
And I'm singin' this song for one of them

He's the man that you passed on the road there
The one with his life on the loose
Goin' either somewhere or nowhere,
Goin' without me without you

For he is this world's constant orphan
Travellin' out his long time,
Livin' on apples from orchards
And dyin' from grapes on the vine

You can find him in big city winters
Down where the mission bell cries
And the sorrow echoes through summers
As he tries to close all his eyes

And dream of his railroad existence
As if it were some kind of dream
As if the extent of the distance
Were what his heart would call him

You can find him in Pittsburgh at Christmas,
You can find him in Buffalo in June
And he knows all the back roads between them
Like a gypsy knows the moon

And it's route twenty-two all over again
Put your thumb out and try to look like somebody's friend
Look strong at the man and mild at the girl
And puzzled at the rest of the world

For he is this world's constant orphan
Travellin' out his long time
Livin' on apples from orchards
And dyin' from grapes on the vine

Copyright 1983, Ensign Music / Tessa Music, BMI
Used by permission
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