I met him on the cliffs

of twin rocks oregon

he was sittin on his bedroll

lookin just like richard brautigan

I thought he was an old man

he wasn't but 37

he said he'd been ridin trains

for 15 years

drawin portraits

to keep his belly full of beer

and it looked to me like he'd died

and missed the plane to heaven

but he was a nice ol' guy

for a younger man

he had a bottle of mad dog

he held in his hand

that he waved around a lot

to make his point

and I listened as he told his tales

of wine and women and county jails

and we finished off that bottle

and smoked a half a joint

he said "I came here to watch the sun

disappear into the ocean

it's been years

since I smelled this salty sea"

he turned his bottle up and down

and I saw him lost

and I saw him found

he said "I don't know

what i've been lookin for,maybe me..."

Well, I told him I too had been

travelin around livin out of my van

from town to town playin for tips

and whatever records I could move

I said "I don't reckon i'll be

makin it big,

you know it's hard to get rich

off a tout of coffee house gigs"

and he said "yeah, but ain't it a blessin

to do what you wanna do..."

and I told him "yeah, I pulled off here

to watch the sun disappear into the ocean

'cause it's been years

since I smelled this salty sea"

and he turned his bottle up and down

he saw me lost and he saw me found

and I said

"I don't know what I've been looking for, maybe me"

I said "it's getting kind of late

better be heading down the interstate

can I give you a lift

to san francisco bay?"

he said "nope, I think I'm just

going to sit here and rest

and maybe wait on the

tokyo-montana express

I might just lay here

and dream my life away

i'm going to sit right here,

i'm going to watch the sun

disappear into the ocean

'cause it's been years, it's been years

i'm gonna turn my bottle up and down

you can see my lost

and you can see my found"

I met him on the cliffs

of twin rocks, oregon

he was sitting on his bedroll

looking just like richard brautigan

just like him