I SHOULDA BEEN BORN A THOUSAND YEARS AGO
Written: Gallagher Street, Las Cruces NM, 1980
Inspired by nothing, this song turned out to have some of Knees’ best lines. He never played it with any of his bands and didn’t really come up with the music until he recorded it back in the early 90s.
I shoulda been born a thousand years ago
I’da been a hero of the day
You’d find me on a quest for a damsel in distress
An you peasants woulda cheered me on my way.
I shoulda been born a thousand years ago
Helpin out a lady fair in need
In my suit of armor
I sure woulda been a charmer
Chivalry comes naturally to me.
But I was born in nineteen and sixty-one
A renaissance or two too late
An when I look aroun,
There ain’t no treasures to be found
Everything I do is out of date.
So tonight I’ll blaze the same ol trail again
Lookin for that same ol grail again
I’m a knight out on the town,
A damsel-huntin clown
Joustin my way back into jail again.
I shoulda been born a thousand years ago
I’m just a man out of time
When I look around today,
Ain’t no dragons left to slay
An even if there was it’d be a crime.