High Sierra

I was down on my luck
So down on my luck
Packed my bags and left
The big city and the trouble I'd seen
Took the highway north
Tryin' to find some place where the air felt clean
I came upon that little cafe in the early spring
Where as you came through the door
Above a little bell would ring

She was waiting there in the High Sierras
Flower in her long black hair in the High Sierras
And I'd been down on my luck
So down on my luck

It was laughter and wine
And warm endless nights
In that little motel
I could have stayed there the rest of my life
Found a job at the filling station
She worked at the luncheonette
In the evening she'd set the table
As I washed off the dirt and sweat
Then it was good as it gets
Just as good as it gets

And we were happy there in the High Sierras
Oh, so happy there in the High Sierras
And I'd been down on my luck
And she lifted me up

One day a man came through town
Someone I used to know
Reminded me of something I'd done
A long time ago
I told him I'd changed
He said, "We owe what we owe"
That evening I boarded the train
Into the big city
I told her I'd be back again
Soon from the big city
It's just old business that had to be done
As the train left the station, they gave me my gun

The day smelled of ash
The sky was hard and blue
All I remember was my shirt
With the blood seeping through

At dusk she'd set the silverware
For the morning shift
She'd sit on the motel porch with a beer and cigarette
As the summer nights would drift
Seasons passed, the winter snow
Melted and come the early spring
At the luncheonette she'd look up from the counter
Each time that little bell would ring

We were happy there in the High Sierras
Oh, so happy there in the High Sierras
When I was down on my luck
She lifted me up