Mumblin' Deaf Ro The Ballad Of Lonesome Ray James
I took a shot at the champion bout.
But my shot came when I was still stupid and young.
And the force of his trade hit me like a train.
I pleaded with the fight referee,
Please let me lie here just a little longer.
I'll surely catch my breath and then land my left.
But things were worse than I'd figured then.
My suffering lungs, they came to rest.
The weight left my feet, and they laid my body.
I left my poor, young widow to grieve.
Broke the heart that I'd sworn to keep.
And the thought of it sinks like a hole inside of me.
Just before I close my eyes,
I heard a soft voice speak to me.
It was a scene from my childhood.
It said your father's tired.
Now let him sleep.
Twenty-one years after I was born,
I left my job working in a storeroom.
And hoping for a break, I punched above my weight
And lost my first professional fight.
Just clung to the ropes and took shots to the side.
This work, it might kill me, but this work provides.
And I wasn't talented, but I worked hard.
I beat better fighters by having a bigger heart,
And I rose through the stakes on my manager's faith.
And took a shot at the champion bout.
But my shot came when I was still stupid and young.
And the force of his trade hit me like a train.
I pleaded with the fight referee,
Please let me lie here just a little longer.
I'll surely catch my breath and then land my left.
But things were worse than I'd figured then.
My suffering lungs, they came to rest.
The weight left my feet, and they laid my body.
I left my poor, young widow to grieve.
Broke the heart that I'd sworn to keep.
And the thought of it sinks like a hole inside of me.
Just before I close my eyes,
I heard a soft voice speak to me.
It was a scene from my childhood.
It said your father's tired.
Now let him sleep.
