I never really knew him all that well
But I loved him like a father
And when I'd stray too far out on the edge
I'd feel his shadow on my shoulder
Leading me with stories from John Henry
To Bob Dylan, Luke and Paul
He always seemed to catch me with a song
To help me break my fall
And he sang about a burning ring of fire
And how to walk a straight and narrow line
He'd put me on a train to take me home
If only in my mind
And in a world he never really seemed to fit
He always found the words to make it rhyme
A dark angel of a saint I'd say he was
Amen, a friend of mine
Sunday mornings coming down
Growing up I still recall him singing
Feelings I was much too young to understand
Somehow I knew the meaning
Why he'd take off to Jackson with June
And I would follow too
And I'd visualize a pony keg
And I'd get rhythm when I got the blues
And he sang about a burning ring of fire
And how to walk a straight and narrow line
He'd put me on a train to take me home
If only in my mind
And in a world he never really seemed to fit
He always found the words to make it rhyme
A dark angel of a saint I'd say he was
Amen, a friend of mine