Long Time Gone

LONG TIME GONE (Bob Dylan; revised wording and arrangement by O.V. Michaelsen) My parents raised me tenderly, I was their only son; My mind got mixed with wanderin' when I was much too young. Was just a kid of thirteen years when I first left my home; Been a long time comin', Ma, I'll be a long time gone. On a road through south New Mexico, in the dust and rolling sage, I thought I'd try to find some work, but they said I was young of age. My eyes, they burned, when I heard, “Go home where you belong.'? Been a long time comin' and 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. In the empty air, my only guide, I traveled on alone, Been a long time comin' and I'll be a long time gone. You might see me on your crossroads, when I'll be passing through, And dream you'll one day follow as I drift beyond your view, Destined for a journey that will never lead me home— Been a long time comin' and I'll be a long time gone. If I could help one drifter on this long, relentless road, I'd warn him of its random ways and the dangers it might hold, But I know I ain't no prophet and I ain't no prophet's son— Just a long time comin' and I'll be a long time gone. So you can have your beauty when skin-deep, it only lies, And you can have your youthhood, it will fade before your eyes. When my roving days are through, just carve upon my stone: “Been a long time comin' and I'll be a long time gone.'?