I Am a Lonesome Pilgrim

Words and Music © 2025 by Geoffrey Clarfield. Written in Florida on March 5, 2025.

I Am a Lonesome Pilgrim

I am a lonesome pilgrim

From Raleigh I did come

I killed I stole and robbed from

The citizens all around

I took their gold and silver

I took their horse and hay

And the Sheriff’s close behind me

He follows on my way

I worked on the plantation

I never earned no pay

My children taken from me

Put on that King’s highway

They said it’s in the Bible

And the king says it’s all true

I left that old plantation

At the risin' of the moon

I lived on beans and bacon

That I stole from my dear ma

At night I travelled freely

I had silver in my paw

I shared it oh so generously

In the north and in the south

And now I build this boat

In the Florida river mouth

I’ll take my boat to Mexico

Where a man can be free

I’ll buy a farm and marry

So that I live easily

I’ll beat those silver dollars

I'll put pesos in my hand

And I’ll breathe the air of freedom

In this old new found land

Cause I am a lonesome pilgrim

From Raleigh town I come

I've killed I've stole I've robbed

From the citizens all around

I took their gold and silver

I took their horse and hay

And the Sheriff’s close behind me

He follows on my way