He wore a song around his neck

Like some medal of honor

He carried his wisdom like a knife

An empty pocket was a temporary chain

Knowing you've got it coming

Ain't no crime

Every blue note that rolled off his tongue

You could feel his soul twisting right in two

Nobody knew where he came from

Ah but everybody knew everybody knew

He was the real thing

No doubt about it

The kind that you remember when they're gone

The real thing

Put here for a reason

We knew someday the whole world

Was going to know his name

He was the real thing

She whispered in his ear

And he heard the thunder

Singing 'bout a world he never knew

Head spinning round

He began to wonder

Was he made to love her

Or born to sing the blues

He searched inside him for an answer

But all he found was a troubled mind

He left her somewhere on the blue highway

Oh it wasn't just another love that he left behind

It was the real thing

No doubt about it

The kind that you remember when it's gone

The real thing

Not like passion's fire

But a burning smoldering eternal flame

And sometimes at night he longs for her whisper

But he hides from the dawn

'Cause he always wakes to find her gone

In some broken down dressing room

In some major city

The thunder plays an old familiar tune

He spies a face of a distant angel

Outside beneath the halo moon

Finger on the trigger needle in the vein

One more bullet

It might be your last ride

This is ain't no no-show

This ain't no nervous breakdown

And it sure as hell ain't the time

To let the fool decide

This is the real thing

No doubt about it

Who cares if they love you and you're gone

This is the real thing

So you were put here for a reason

But what gives you the right to quit when you're tired

Anyway boy this ain't no game

This is the real thing

He wore a song around his neck

Like some medal of honor

He carried his wisdom like a knife