If I Had A List
Utah Phillips
Starlight On the Rails
Banjo tuned E, Capo 3, Key A


If I Had A List

   A                  E7
I came into Yuba as soon as I read
                            A
Of all of those twenty five hoboes found dead
                           D 
I came in to find  out if one of the slain
           A           E7            A
Could have answered to my brother's name,

Chorus:
                          E7
If I had a list and only knew
                                           A 
I'd write down the names and sing them to you
                                     D
And when I got done, I'd sing them again
        A             E7       A
You'd all know each one had a name


He may be your brother, I just couldn't say;
We hire lots of floaters who work by the day;
Now I see his photo, they might be the same,
But I just can't remember his name.

He stopped for a drink every now and again,
Didn't look no different than hundreds of men;
You know these old bums, they all look the same,
No reason to ask him his name.

He had a room and ran out on the rent,
Hired on a crew, I don't know where he went;
If I knew his boss I might make a claim,
But I forgot to write down his name.

He might have been Shorty, a feller I knew;
We bunked in the empties when the season was through.
You know, I've been thinking, it sure is a shame
I never did ask him his name.

We always abandon the old for the new,
And second-hand people get thrown away, too;
I know it won't help, but still it explains
Why no one remembers their names.

Copyright ©1973, 2000 Bruce Phillips