Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman, David Blue and Me

At night, he sits alone looking at the stars

He listens to them playing guitars

Him and Phil go back a long long way

They talked about marching and dying all in one day

They played songs together, they sit up past the dawn

I wonder why this dream goes on

You know Bob was there last week as well

He's a quiet guy but he's got stories to tell

Our hero sits and listens without asking why

And teaches Bob A minor with a glint in his eye

Bob used it on Hollis Brown, but that was sometime ago

When is this dream gonna stop?

Heaven knows

Then our hero picks up his guitar

To play them the only tune he knows

He played it to me once

He said "Wes, it's short, but this is how it goes"

And then he sings

"This is the only thing that really matters

Keeps me going, retains my sanity

The nights I spend alone when there's just

Phil Ochs, Bob Dylan, Steve Goodman

David Blue and me"

Stevie died and David died

But only to the papers that live outside

Last Thursday they were in the room where he sits

The three of them making jokes about the meager obits

Steve and David smiled and they left quite soon

He wonders about that dream

As he looks at the stars and the moon

Sometimes he has a party for him and the crew

They turn up on time just cos they always do

And Phil plays I Ain't Marching, it's his favorite song

And Bob plays harmonica but he plays it all wrong

And Steve harmonizes like he did with John Prine

David just sits and looks blue all the time

Then the time comes round again

They all sit and listen to our hero playing

He says "You've heard it all before"

But they like it so they shout "Encore!"

And then he sings, it's a dream come true

"This is the only thing that really matters

Keeps me going, retains my sanity

The nights I spend alone when there's just