Ten-eyelet Docs and faded jeans, they gave your pace a spring
An empty pocket, head, or fridge didn't really mean a thing
You'd send your boot in front of you and let it find the ground
And never care about the ground that was or wasn't found
Roses were so red, and plucking them so sweet
Tomorrow was another day, we didn't care to meet
A prowler for excitement at whatever chance or cost
I opened up my lungs to that slick sense of getting lost
I've been down
(How did it feel?)
And it was no fun
(Where'd you wanna be?)
I wanna be on top
(Wup puddah-buh-dah!)
And I want you around
I've been out
(And you've paid your dues)
Now ain't got no time
(No time for blues)
I've gotta see my muse!
Silence sang so lusciously and darkness shone so bright
There were treasures to discover under cover of the night
I entertained myself up to the point of getting dull
I dallied and let demons have a ball inside my skull
I've been down
(How did it feel?)
And it was no fun
(Where'd you wanna be?)
I wanna be on top
(Wup puddah-buh-dah!)
And I want you around
I've been out
(And you've paid your dues)
Now ain't got no time
(No time for blues)
I've gotta see my muse!
The comfort of a snowdrift in the quiet of a park
The safety of an alleyway downtown after dark
The wry charm of a loser that no one can defeat
Rest assured the bottom will yield beneath your feet
Let space figure it out over time
You've got drive, you've got groove, you've got rhyme
You've got smokes and a light, you've got rum
You are king, you are god, you're a Dharma bum
You've gotta beat your own drum
(Beat your drum, beat you drum...)
You've gotta beat your own drum