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   So 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