The sky was a braid of many colors And it was snowing just outside the motel down in Shreveport I left my mandolin in the rain in Coushatta That was yesterday time I took the old path through the white clouds in a shower I smoked my mind up in the old hotel down in Cairo Where I tried to rack up all my tomorrow's tomorrows And it was just wasted time O day, O day O day, O day Now Bess can sing it O day, O day I'm gonna put all my pain in a bottle And throw it all the way deep down into the East River Then walk that way with my head up like the poet With a rose in my jaw O day, O day O day, O day Now Bess can sing it O day, O day With a love so free A love so free With a love so free A love so free With a love so free A love so free With a love so free A love so free