About the Song
Far across the Mississippi & out on the open plains
In an Oklahoma cowtown where the sky begins to rain
In a dusty run-down honkytonk sits a drifting tumbleweed
Thumbing thru some magazine that he can't even read
(up 2) Am - Am7 - / D - E - ://
Now tumbleweed remembers how the west was won & lost
The homestead act & the dust bowl, everybody paid the cost
And the great white father promised to treat his children all the same
Back when Indian territory was Oklahoma's name
Oh tumbleweed keep rollin', he just roams from town to town
It ain't easy for a half-breed kid to try and settle down
Tumbleweed keep rollin', he can't find no place to rest
Yeah the desert wind blows tumbleweed like some spirit of the west
F - C - / D - E - / F - C - / D - E - Am - (Am7 - D - E - )
Well his boot heals tap in time to an old flat top guitar
And he's a guitar local hero & he sings straight from the heart
And his tip jar just a jungle of worn old dollar bills
He makes his rent & grocery in the local bar & grill
When he starts to picking that old guitar, you know the people turn & stare
When he starts to sing the songs he wrote, well there's magic in the air
'Cause his songs can heal your wounded heart, he can set you spirit free
He can raise you hopes to be the very best that you can be
So if you cross the Mississippi, you head out on the open plain
And you pass through Oklahoma & the sky begins to rain
And you feeling kind of rootless, you can't find no place to rest
Just remember tumbleweed, he's the spirit of the west
- lyrics & music by Bill Miller © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management. All rights reserved.
From his "The Red Road" album.