Garrison Keillor's tribute to Sean Blackburn
Ramblin' Boy by Tom Paxton; lyrics modified by Garrison Keillor in tribute to Sean Blackburn.
Performed on "Prairie Home Companion" October 1, 2005
He was a friend in the hard old days
With a big mustache and a friendly face
He never cared if he had no dough
And so he sang on the radio
And here's to you my Ramblin' Boy
May all your ramblin' bring you joy
And here's to you my Ramblin' Boy
May all your ramblin' bring you joy
With his big guitar and a cowboy hat
At the microphone he sat
He told his jokes and he told it straight
He started early and he finished late
Sang songs of freedom and romance
And he yodeled when he had the chance
A singin' cowboy tall and slim
And now we'll sing this song for him
Adventure is the cowboy's motto
And so he left for Colorado
To sing his cowboy serenade
And practice rope tricks in the shade
Some lives are easy some are hard
You cut the deck and you draw the cards
He took the good along with the bad
And gave away what gifts he had
And here's to you my old friend Sean
Our ramblin' pal is dead and gone
I honor his good memory
I sing for him he sang for me
And here's to you my Ramblin' Boy
May all your ramblin' bring you joy
And soon we'll go to join you there
In that meeting in the air
Oh come angel band
Come and around me stand
Oh bear me away on your snow white wings
To my eternal home