chorus:
Last night I saw Stephen Foster
walking through my town
said he had come back here on US 6
to lay his head down
where the Susquehanna rolls by without a care
and the mountains shield prying eyes
and the world's unwanted glare
Last night I saw him
walking through Wyalusing town
He said, "lets go have a drink
I know this town's not dry"
I said, "Stephen are you still drinking?"
he said, "only when I cry..."
I said "let me show you around"
things have changed since you've been here
he said "son I'm hoping not...
it's changes that I fear..."
Hard Times keep coming 'round
knocking on my door
when I won't let them in
they come up through the floor
come around come around
come around no more
either drift off to sleep
or too far from shore
chorus
Camptown Races are still run
but the horses turned away
he said "well what's the fun in that...
Oh! doo-dah day"
But them rocks still open up a view
that the Lord above can see
and at twilight He rubs his eyes
that's how He blesses me
He said "there's many things I'd like to change
from where I'm standing at
but knowledge gained through another's pain
is still knowledge for all that"
Dear friends and gentle hearts*
though forever may you roam
the smile of a stranger
will always lead you home
* when Foster died, forgotten and penniless in New York City, a scrap
of paper was found on him with these words,
possibly a song title or the beginning of a lyric