well i gotta world of trouble in mind, the pilgrim said need somethin' to believe in, or someone to be i got a mountain of worries just pilin' up inside my head it's a curse of the worst kind for a dreamer like me
so he climbed up alone on the turkey mountain ridge he looked out at the people on the plain and he saw god that night in the sleepy river and the city lights but he felt like a loser just the same
states of misery, states of grace trouble and joy on a young man's face swing low, sweet chariot, take me down that long, black road into tulsa town
well i gotta roll these tumblin' dice again, he sighed leave it up to good fortune, and the draw and the deal i gotta put my life out on that table and just let it ride slip away from these hounds of love that nip at my heels
but over on the back porch in the early mornin' rain sits a girl with a mirror in her smile insubstantial is the summer breeze as it disappears into the trees but she holds his eye for a little while
states of misery, states of grace trouble and joy on a young man's face swing low, sweet chariot, take me down that long, black road into tulsa town
one dreamer got a job someplace, they say he got his life on track one dreamer got married, they say he sleeps in the sun one dreamer got strung out young, you know he never really did bounce back one dreamer got a second chance, and others got none
this dreamer's sittin' on a park bench in a city faraway and he tells you the stories of his youth forcin' a laugh, makin' a joke out of bein' lonesome and silly and broke but he still makes room for a little truth
states of misery, states of grace trouble and joy on a young man's face swing low, sweet chariot, take me down that long, black road into tulsa town
swing low, sweet chariot, take me down that long, black road into tulsa into tulsa town