Old Gilbert Songtext
von Stan Coster

Gilbert was just eighteen years of
Age when he first took himself a wife
But she proved to be unfaithful so
The swag and open road became his life
He turned bitter against all women, only used them when he could
And he only had contempt for other men
He worked and drank and wandered all alone except for one
A mangy old blue heeler for a friend

Years ago old Gilbert found a puppy by the roadside left to die
Hungry and frightened, nearly frozen ′neath the frosty southern sky
Gilbert picked him up and raised him and a bond of friendship grew
A friendship that was never known to bend
Then one day Gilbert woke to find his old track mate was gone
And he began a search that never was to end


Gilbert used to work a while and then he'd go to town on one big spree
It was the only way he knew to ease the pain of hurtful memories
So in a coastal town while Gilbert drank away his cares
His old dog was impounded there and so
When they couldn′t find its owner, the dog was put to sleep
And perhaps it's best if Gilbert never knows

Gilbert roamed from town to town still
Searching for the friend he'd never find
It was the final blow from fate that
Really turned the old man′s twisted mind
He was ridiculed in barrooms, he was laughed at in the streets
Still searching for his friend across the land
Till someone found him dead one day ′neath a table in a park
With a collar and a chain clutched in his hand

Years ago old Gilbert found a puppy by the roadside left to die
Hungry and frightened, nearly frozen 'neath the frosty southern sky
Gilbert picked him up and raised him and a bond of friendship grew
A friendship that was never known to bend
Then one day Gilbert woke to find his old track mate was gone
And he began a search that only death could end