I got a world of trouble in mind, the pilgrim said
Need something to believe in, or someone to be
I got a mountain of worries just piling up inside my head
It's a curse of the worst kind for a dreamer like me
So he climbed up alone on the Turkey Mountain Ridge
He looked out at the people on the plain
He saw god that night in the sleepy river and the city lights
But he felt like a loser just the same
Woah, woah, states of misery
States of grace
Trouble and joy on a young man's face
Swing low sweet chariot
Take me down
That long black road into Tulsa town
"Well, I gotta roll these tumbling dice again", he sighed
"Leave it up to good fortune and the draw and the deal.
I gotta put my life out on that table and just let it ride
Slip away from these hounds of love that nip at my heels"
But over on the back porch, in the early morning rain
Sits a girl with a mirror in her smile
Insubstantial as the summer breeze, as it disappears into the trees
But she holds his eye for a little while
Woah, woah, states of misery
States of grace
Trouble and joy on a young man's face
Swing low sweet chariot
Take me down
That long black road into Tulsa town
One dreamer got a job someplace, they say he got his life on track
One dreamer got married, they say he sleeps in the sun
One dreamer got strung out young, you know he never really did bounce back
One dreamer got a second chance, and others got none
This dreamer's sitting on a park bench, in a city far away
And he tells you the stories of his youth
Forcing a laugh and making a joke outta being lonesome and silly and broke
But he still makes room for a little truth
Woah, woah, states of misery
States of grace
Trouble and joy on a young man's face
Swing low sweet chariot
Take me down
That long black road into Tulsa town
Swing low sweet chariot
Take me down
That long black road into Tulsa
Into Tulsa town