Long Time Gone - Witmark Demo - 1963

My parents raised me tenderly, I was their only son
 My mind got mixed with ramblin' when I was all so young
 And I left my home the first time when I was 12 and one
 I'm a long time a-comin', Maw, an' I'll be a long time gone
 On the Western side of Texas, on the Texas plains
 I tried to find a job of work, but they said I was young of age
 My eyes they burned when I had, "Go home where you belong!"
 I'm a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone
 I remember when I was ramblin', around with the carnival trains
 Different towns, different people, somehow they're all the same
 I remember children's faces best, I remember travelin' on
 I'm a long time a-comin', I'll be a long time gone
 I once loved a fair young maid, an' I ain't too big to tell
 If she broke my heart a single time, she broke it ten or 12
 I walked and talked all by myself, I did not tell no one
 I'm a long time a-comin', babe, an' I'll be a long time gone
 Many times by the highway side, I tried to flag a ride
 With bloodshot eyes and gritting teeth, I'd watch the cars roll by
 The empty air hung in my head, I was thinkin' all day long
 I'm a long time a-comin', an' I'll be a long time gone
 You might see me on your crossroads when I'm a-passin' through
 Remember me how you wished to as I'm a-driftin' from your view
 I ain't got the time to think about it, I got too much to get done
 Well, I'm a long time comin', an' I'll be a long time gone
 If I can't help somebody with a word or song
 If I can't show somebody, they are travelin' wrong
 But I know I ain't no prophet an' I ain't no prophet's son
 I'm just a long time a-comin' an' I'll be a long time gone
 So you can have your beauty, it's skin deep and it only lies
 And you can have your youth, it'll rot before your eyes
 Just give to me my gravestone with it clearly carved upon
 "I was a long time a-comin' an' I'll be a long time gone"