Otis Gibbs - The Darker Side Of Me Lyrics

Otis Gibbs -The Darker Side Of Me Lyrics

As we pulled into Milwaukee
I could feel my head and back begin to sway.
After ridin’ 13 hours I was ready
To get my feet off of the train.
Reminded of what happened in Wichita, St. Paul and Abeline,
Somewhere in the distance I was followed by the darker side of me.

I stumbled through the city, looking for a place that I could lay my head
But first I needed work because it’d been a couple days since I’d been fed.
On the shores of lake Michigan,
I found a spot where I could finally breathe,
I slept next to the water and I dreamt about the darker side of me.

When I woke I found a fishing boat loading up its nets to meet the day,
The captain walked up to me and offered me a job and a place to stay,
He promised he’d feed me and I could sleep inside the boat when the day was done,
I could feel the darkness fading as we sailed off in the early morning sun,
The next two months were filled with the longest days that I had ever seen,
The work was never ending and I barely had the time to eat or sleep.
We all hauled 400 pounds of salmon from the cold and frigid water every day,
After all my days of toiling I forgot about the darker side of me.

When the season finally ended I went and asked the captain for my pay,
When I walked into his office he claimed he didn’t have a dime for me,
He said I owed him money for sleeping inside his boat every night,
When I heard the bogus charges I could feel the darkness churning deep inside,
I closed the door behind me and I offered him a chance to come clean,
I’m here for all my money and I’m not the type of man that walks away.
He laughed and spit at me said ain’t no way in hell I’m getting paid,
But his laughter fell to silence as I introduced him to the darker side of me.

As I pulled out of Milwaukee
I could feel my head and back begin to sway.
I’ll be ridin’ 13 hours and I’m ready
To get my feet off of the train.
Reminded of what happened in Galesburg, Flagstaff and Milwaukee
Somewhere in the distance I keep running from the darker side of me.
If we meet inside a boxcar may you never see the darker side of me.

[Lyrics to The Darker Side Of Me by Otis Gibbs]