Went off to see the world
And got just what I bargained for
A steamer on the sea
Some other life that washed ashore
Stood on the dock
Smoked cigarettes to hide the fear
Shook hands and parted ways
And then the black dog chased me here
Went off to see the world
And got lost on the way back home
A sleepless sleeping car
A night scene painted monochrome
After the rounds
After the heavy-handed cheer
They go the way they came
Leaving the black dog with me here
It’s just the black dog with me here
Went off to see the world
Came back to stand on my own ground
Turned over all my dreams
And built a house with what I found
Each hammered nail
An echoed mortar in my ear
A face down in the dirt
I know the black dog sees me here
But through it all she comes around
Clearing the debris that keeps me from me
And if I told her, she would let me let it go
Well, some I’ll say but some she’ll never know
Went off to see the world
And got more than I bargained for
A memory to keep
On the locked side of my front door
Behind my eyes
That image dulls each passing year
But still I’ll hold her close
To send the black dog far from here
