He was the black sheep of the family
How did mama's pride and joy
To the devil's poster boy
I'm gonna slick my hair like Elvis
Roll my cuffs like Jerry Lee
If the backbeat's born in hell
Then that's the place I want to be
I'm gonna be a midnight rider
Gonna burn my candle down
Following that driving beat
To the dark side of town
From the barrooms of Deep Elam
To a crash-pad on the Bay
He spiralled slow and steady down
A lonely blue highway
I'm gonna chase my beer with whiskey
Stick a needle in my skin
I'm gonna celebrate the mystery
Of the hole I've fallen in
'Cause I'm a midnight rider
Gonna burn my candle down
Following that driving beat
To the dark side of town
He loved that funky music
He knew the back road scenes
Every barbeque and blues band
Between here and New Orleans
He put down the bottle
October Eighty-nine
Eased up on the throttle
Bought him a little time
But he was a midnight rider
He burned that candle down
Hangin' out on easy-does-it street
On the dark side of town
Big Al settled down along
The banks of Onion Creek
With a pickup and a hound dog
And a little lucky streak
He nursed that fragile frame
Through the hurricanes and drought
It was a summer wind that came in
And blew the candle out
'Cause he was a midnight rider
He burned that candle down
Following that driving beat
To the dark side of town
Oh, you midnight rider
I know you're still around
Hangin' out on easy street
On the dark side of town