Jacob Brown found me when I was a baby
Abandoned on some lonesome city street
He took me in and tried his best to raise me
To pick me up and put me on my feet
He taught me how to dance and play the banjo
I passed the hat while that old man would sing
We played every two-bit town from Maine to Texas
I can tell a half a-dollar from a quarter from the way she rings
Chorus:
And I recall a boxcar and a bedroom
Have supper cookin by railroad tracks
But that was home to us, it made no difference
That I was white and Jacob Brown was black
We were somewhere close to Kansas City, Kansas
Tradin songs for drinks in some saloon
I picked a piece while Jacob did the softshoe
You couldve heard a pin drop in the room
Than I tipped my hat and started for the money
And just as quick I turned and he was down
He said, Son, I guess Im bound to leave you nothin.
But nothin was a lot to Jacob Brown
So, Im goin on the Oklahoma City
Tryin to put tomorrow on my mind
But I just cant seem to get it all together
Cause I find it kinda hard to leave an old friend behind
(Chorus)