Up and down the old homestead The naked rider gallops through his head And although the moon isn't full He still feels the pull Out on the floor where the cowboys dance Approaching slowly at a glance Here comes the shadow of his stance The reins are falling from his hands “Why do you ride that crazy horse,” Inquires the shadow with little remorse Just then a priest comes down the stairs With a sack of dreams and old nightmares “Who are you,” the rider says “You dress in black but you talk like a fed You spout ideas from books that you've read Don't you care about this guy’s head” Just then the sound of hoofbeats was heard And the sky was darkened by a prehistoric bird Who flew between the unfulfilled moon And the naked rider to a telephone booth We'll call the moon and see what's up I've got some change in this little tin cup They say that the shadow is growing dim He needs some light to get back to him Just one call should do it all I’ll carve this number on the wall With my beak Flying feathers were all around And the air was filled with a ringing sound Two more birds, the second and the third Came down from the sky to deliver the word “Where have you been,” they said to the first “Get back to the clouds, we're dying of thirst There's not enough time to make that call Let's ditch this rider, shadow and all” The sky was filled with the beautiful birds Still on the ground some crying was heard With his dime in his hand and his hand on the dial His ears were sweating as he forced a smile Hoofbeats beating across the range He rode through the night with his cup of change Tired and beaten he fell into slumber But up in the sky they still had his number Up and down the old homestead The naked rider gallops through his head And although the moon isn't full He still feels the pull Still feels the pull Still feels the pull Still feels the pull Still feels the pull