Cautious Man Lyrics & Chords By Bruce Springsteen

Bill Horton was a cautious man of the road.
He walked lookin' over his shoulder,
And remained faithful to its code.
When something caught his eye,
He'd measure his need,
And then very carefully he'd proceed.
Billy met a young girl,
In the early days of May.
It was there in her arms,
He let his cautiousness slip away.
In their lovers twilight,
As the evening sky grew dim,
He'd lay back in her arms,
And laugh at what had happened to him.
On his right hand Billy'd tattooed the word love,
And on his left hand was the word fear,
And in which hand he held his fate,
Was never clear.
Come Indian summer he took his young lover for his bride.
And with his own hands,
Built her a great house down by the riverside.
Now Billy was a honest man,
He wanted to do what was right.
He worked hard to fill their lives
With happy days and loving nights.
Alone on his knees in the darkness,
For steadiness he'd pray.
For he knew in a restless heart,
The seeds of betrayal lay.
One nght Billy awoke from a terrible dream
Callin' his wife's name.
She lay breathing beside him in a peaceful sleep.
A thousand miles away.
He got dressed in the moonlight,
And down to the highway he strode.
When he got there,
He didn't find nothing but road.
Billy felt a coldness rise up inside him
That he couldn't name.
Just as the words tattooed 'cross his knuckles,
He knew would always remain.
At their bedside he brushed the hair from his wife's face.
As the moon shone on her skin so white,
Bathing their room in the beauty
of God's fallen light.