Let 'Er Go

Last night I sat out on the boat dock and smoked a big cigar

Let my mind drift back along the road of life
I've traveled down so far
Started out a dreamer with a suitcase in hand
A guitar on my back without a care or a plan
A gypsy boy hitchhiking down the road
Ah here I go

I fell in love at nineteen and
I thought the world lay there in her eyes
But the kind of life I talked about
Was not the kind that she had in mind
I was just a skinny kid who played the guitar
One day I looked up and she went by in a car
Driven by some guy I didn't know
I let 'er go

I went down to New Orleans,
I'd never been to that locale
Found some work bartending
And I started running with some pals
We had guitars and followed babe Stovall around
We met some Cajun girls who had just drove into town
They said that they were headed for the coast,
We all said let's all go

We were on life's adventure now,
Traveling cross the great southwest
When I first saw Texas
I thought man this must be the best
When I got to LA I just turned it around
Their heads are up among the stars,
There's cracks in the ground
I really couldn't care less if it blows,
I said let 'er blow

When I got back to Texas
I thought man I finally found my place
The people are so friendly
And they always have a pleasant face
The women all are pretty with a wink in their eye
The cowboys at the bar are all so polite and shy
Except when they ride the bulls at the rodeo,
They say let 'er go

Well I put a band together
And we sat around and played songs that I like
We sat around and worked them up
'Till I thought we played them all just right
The first gig that we ever played
I stayed out too long
Then we went out and partied
And we stayed up 'till dawn
The next night at the club I didn't show,
The bartender said hey let 'em go

I got lucky with some songs
And they were hits on the radio
Promoters said they needed some gonzo stuff
For the country package show
The record company said that they were caught by surprise
They said you guys are really hard to categorize
I don't think that they ever caught our show
They just let us go

Well I've traveled round the world
And sang my songs for people that I've met
I've made a lot of people smile
And all in all I still have no regrets
I've got a family that I love and they love me too
I've got a band I travel with 'cause that's what we do
And I see how quickly all the years have flown,
I say let 'em go

Last night I sat out on the boat dock
And smoked a big cigar
And let my mind drift back along the road of life
I've traveled down so far
I thought of all the places I have been in my life
And all the places that I have to see 'fore I die
I looked over at the boat tied to the dock,
I said got on and let 'er go