You can say the soul is gone

And the feelin's just not there

Not like it was so long ago

On the empty page before you

You can fill in what you care

Try to make it new before you go



Take the simple case of the sarge

Who wouldn't go back to war

'Cause the hippies tore down everything that he was fightin' for

Or the lovers on the blankets

The city turned to whores

With memories of green kissed by the sun



You can say the soul is gone

And close another door

Just be sure that yours is not the one



And I'm singin' for the stringman

Who lately lost his wife

There is no dearer friend of mine

That I know in this life

On his shoulders rests a violin

For his head where chaos reigns

But his heart can't find a simple way

To live with all those things

All those things

He's a stringman

A stringman

All those strings to pull