A Lot Like Me (Mary Chapin Carpenter) He was a long tall stranger from way down south where he'd left his life behind He had a big old Gibson and a pickup truck and Shenandoah eyes And I remember him sitting in that local bar where I earned my pay each night Singing my songs to empty chairs and going home half tight So the nights rolled by like headlights shining on a lonesome strip of tar I kept his words of kindness close to me like a pick on my guitar; And we Talked about the singers and the songs we loved and the songs we'd most forgot In that run-down bar they'd make last call and I'd never want to stop 'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams With my cowboy boots and my old six-string Hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars When I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a helluva lot like me He'd played a lot of places where the only wages were food and beer for free No fancy licks, but he had him a gift for the kind of songs he'd sing But you do what you can to be a satisfied man, just to have your peace of mind So he gave it all up for a government job where the paychecks come on time So now he comes to the bar to hear me play guitar and to share a drink or two And we sit swapping tales of where we've been and what we'd rather do There's a wealth of danger when you're talking to strangers, and I meet them all the time But my heart knew better than my head when I looked into those eyes 'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams with my cowboy boots and my old six-string Hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars When I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a hell of a lot like me Well, maybe I'll quit when I got me a kid and a place to call my own But tonight there ain't nobody there waiting up for me at home It's a hell of a way to live from day to day not knowing where you're bound But the look in his eyes made me realize I was glad for the life I'd found 'Cause I was living on nothing but a young girl's dreams with my cowboy boots and my old six-string Hitching my wagon to a star, dreaming of leaving those local bars When I'd get him up at closing time for a couple of songs and a chance to shine Like the star that he longed to be, he looked a hell of a lot like me Like the star that he'd always be, he looked a hell of a lot like me