This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
As I was out walking on a corner one day
I spied an old hobo, in a doorway he lay
His face was all grounded in the cold sidewalk floor
And I guess he'd been there for the whole night or more
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song
Leaving nobody to carry him home
He was only, but one more is gone (one cord for a while)
Now listing here, a blanket of newspaper covered his head
As the step was his pillow, the street was his bed
One look at his face showed the hard road he'd come (yes it did)
(Anybody could tell)
And a fistful of coins showed the money he bummed
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song
Leaving nobody to carry him home
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
(Play the thing now)
Does it take much of a man to see his whole life go down
A women or a girl or anyone in the world
To look up on the world from a hole in the ground
To wait for your future like a horse that's gone lame
To lie in the gutter and die with no name
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song
Leaving nobody to carry him home
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Only, only a hobo but one more is gone
I spied an old hobo, in a doorway he lay
His face was all grounded in the cold sidewalk floor
And I guess he'd been there for the whole night or more
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song
Leaving nobody to carry him home
He was only, but one more is gone (one cord for a while)
Now listing here, a blanket of newspaper covered his head
As the step was his pillow, the street was his bed
One look at his face showed the hard road he'd come (yes it did)
(Anybody could tell)
And a fistful of coins showed the money he bummed
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song
Leaving nobody to carry him home
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
(Play the thing now)
Does it take much of a man to see his whole life go down
A women or a girl or anyone in the world
To look up on the world from a hole in the ground
To wait for your future like a horse that's gone lame
To lie in the gutter and die with no name
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Leaving nobody to sing his sad song
Leaving nobody to carry him home
He was only a hobo, but one more is gone
Only, only a hobo but one more is gone
Lyrics submitted by Mellow_Harsher
Only a Hobo Lyrics as written by Bob Dylan
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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