10 Degrees & Getting Colder

He was standin' by the highway With a sign that just said "mother" When he heard a driver comin' 'Bout a half a mile away Then he held the sign up higher Where no decent soul could miss it It was ten degrees or colder Down by bolder dam that day He was raised up in Milwaukee Though he never was that famous He was just a road musician To the taverns he would go Singin' songs about the ramblin' The lovin' girls and gamblin' How the world fell on his shoulders Back in Boulder I don't know It was out in Arizona That he heard the lady listenin' To each word that he was sayin' To each line that he would write Then he sat down by her table and They talked about the weather Ninety-eight point six and risin' Down by Boulder dam that day And she told him she would take him For a ride in the mornin' sun Back in Boulder he had told her "I don't know when I had a better friend" Now he's traded off his Martin But his troubles are not over For his feet are almost frozen And the sun is sinkin' low Won't you listen to me brother If you ever loved your mother Please pull off on the shoulder If you're goin' Milwaukee way It's ten degrees and getting colder Down by Boulder dam today --- 10 Degrees & Getting Colder - Gordon Lightfoot