Lyric Ace

By: Jimmy Buffett
1971
Hardly seems a long time
Just a minute of the day
But the man who stood beside me
More than gave himself away
The food stain on his spotted shirt
A gray beard on his face
A man composed of many names
So I just called him Ace

Chorus:
But Ace can t read and Ace can t write
And he sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain t bitter, he ain t sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowing what he s gonna find

Born in Mississippi
Picking cotton as a child
Left soon for the city
Where he heard that life was wild
That was fifty years ago
When nothing s really strange
From a poor dirt farm to dirty streets
Is really not much change

Chorus:
And Ace can t read and Ace can t write
And he sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain t bitter, he ain t sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowing what he s gonna find

Go back to the country
No he really can t do that
Wasted years have left him
Nothing but an old straw hat
So he puts it on his head
And waves a last good-bye
No time left to turn around
And no time to ask why

Chorus:
Ace can t read and Ace can t write
And he sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain t bitter, he ain t sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowing what he s gonna find
And this old world has left poor Ace behind