Ballad Of Barbara

In a southern town where I was born That's where I got my education I worked in the fields and I walked in the woods And I wondered at creation I recall the sun in a sky of blue And the smell of green things growin' And the seasons changed and I lived each day Just the way the wind was blowin' Then I heard of a cultured city life Breathtakin' lofty steeples And the day I called myself a man I left my land and my people And I rambled north and I rambled east And I tested and I tasted And a girl or two, took me round and round But they always left me wasted In a world that's all concrete and steel With nothin' green ever growin' Where the buildings hide the risin' sun And they blocked the free winds from blowin' Where you sleep all day and you wake all night To a world of drink and laughter I met that girl that I was sure would be The one that I was after In a soft blue gown and formal tux Beneath that lofty steeple He said, "Do you Barbara, take this man Will you be one of his people?" And she said, "I will", and she said, "I do" And the world looked mighty pretty And we lived in a fancy downtown flat 'Cause she loved the noisy city But the days grew cold beneath a yellow sky And I longed for green things growin' And the thoughts of home and the people there But she'd not agreed to goin' Then her hazel eyes turned away from me With a look that wasn't pretty And she turned into concrete and steel And she said, "I'll take the city" Now the cars go by on the interstate And my pack is on my shoulder But I'm goin' home, where I belong Much wiser now and older --- Ballad of Barbara - Johnny Cash