A hero left on the side of the road
The parade's long passed him by
Sometimes all that makes us heroic
is a smile through the storm
Hero gives
the wink of an eye
to a whore that won't just pass him by
All he really wants is someone to keep him warm
He woke up cold and we see in the morn'
he's just a saint that hasn't died
And still he lives his life
like he wishes he weren't born
An angel wakes, wipes a tear from her eyes
Even her dreams make her cry
And she too just wanted someone
to keep her warm
The two walk out
to a street that has died
"A parade long gone" said with a smile
He didn't know if she meant the street
or if she meant last night
An old man sits on a curb in his shame
The young girl walks the other way
He doesn't know her name
and he thinks that that ain't right
She's lived her life in an unsafe way
He knows he's gonna have to pay
On the street of life she's never looked both ways
Young girl walks from a broken man
On a curb our hero's with a drink in his hand
He seems a little shady now
so she crosses to the other side
But of course she never looked the other way
A car's oncoming but it'll be okay
For she's diseased and drugged
and by tomorrow,
she's gonna have to die
But that our hero never knew
He saved a life
and never thought it through
so heroically
but no one was there to see
And as he thinks that she's just a whore,
the angel couldn't thank him more
So she so gratefully
had to turn and leave
Or maybe she's on heroin
He thinks this of our heroine
Sometimes thoughts should never be believed
Our hero sits on the side of the road
Everyone dies much too old
I mean everyone dies much too young
but both are somewhat true
Broken bottle lies on the floor
He thinks all he's done is saved some whore
It's funny how the lives you save can end up saving you
Young man passes by a whore
with an angel's smile that he now wore
as he came upon a man
walking his final mile
Offers him a dime or two
Our hero says "That won't do.
Why don't you take mine instead-
It'll last you for a while"
A few crumpled bills in the palm of his hand
would change the life of that young man
Even at his worst,
our hero's standing tall
For the young man's never had a dream
Until now the world kinda seemed
a little beyond his help
but a few dollars changed it all
Young man knows he'll be someone
to help the world forevermore
as he tells our hero
"I thank God that you were born"
He saved two lives he never knew
He would freeze to death never knowing who
he saved that day
He died that very night
And as the sun so slowly came to rise,
there were no tears in her eyes
For the first time
she didn't have to cry
A hero died within his shame
An angel died without a name
And still we know they'll both be alright