Jacob Brown found me when I was a baby
Abandoned on some lonesome city street
He took me in and tried his best to raise me
To pick me up and put me on my feet
He taught me how to dance and play the banjo
I passed the hat while that old man would sing
We played every two-bit town from Maine to Texas
I can tell a half a-dollar from a quarter from the way she rings

And I recall a boxcar and a bedroom
Have supper cookin’ by railroad tracks
But that was home to us, it made no difference
That I was white and Jacob Brown was black

We were somewhere close to Kansas City, Kansas
Tradin’ songs for drinks in some saloon
I picked a piece while Jacob did the softshoe
You could’ve heard a pin drop in the room
Than I tipped my hat and started for the money
And just as quick I turned and he was down
He said, “Son, I guess I’m bound to leave you nothin’.”
But nothin’ was a lot to Jacob Brown

So, I’m goin’ on the Oklahoma City
Tryin’ to put tomorrow on my mind
But I just can’t seem to get it all together
‘Cause I find it kinda hard to leave an old friend behind