"Mr. Bojangles" The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

This has long been a personal favorite.  It's a sad story but such a pretty song. 


Here's a little background information that I have copied straight from Wikopedia:

"Walker has said he was inspired to write the song after an encounter with a street performer in a New Orleans jail and does not refer to the famous stage and movie personality Bill "Bojangles" Robinson. Walker said while in jail for public intoxication in 1965, he met a homeless white man who called himself "Mr. Bojangles" to conceal his true identity from the police. He had been arrested as part of a police sweep of indigent people that was carried out following a high-profile murder. The two men and others in the cell chatted about all manner of things, but when Mr. Bojangles told a story about his dog, the mood in the room turned heavy. Someone else in the cell asked for something to lighten the mood, and Mr. Bojangles obliged with a tap dance."

MR. BOJANGLES

JERRY JEFF WALKER

I KNEW A MAN BOJANGLES
AND HE'D DANCE FOR YOU
IN WORN OUT SHOES

SILVER HAIR AN RAGGED SHIRT
AND BAGGY PANTS
HE DID THE OLD SOFT SHOE

 HE JUMPED SO HIGH  
HE JUMPED SO HIGH
AND THEN HE'D LIGHTLY TOUCH DOWN

I MET HIM IN A CELL
IN NEW ORLEANS  
I WAS 

DOWN AND OUT

HE LOOKED AT ME TO BE
THE EYES OF AGE
AS HE SPOKE RIGHT OUT

HE TALKED OF LIFE
  HE TALKED OF LIFE
HE LAUGHED AND CLICKED HIS HEELS AND STEP

WELL HE SAID HIS NAME BOJANAGLES
AND HE DANCED A LICK
ACROSS THE CELL

HE GRABBED HIS PANTS AND SPREAD A STANCE
OH HE JUMPED SO HIGH
AND THEN HE CLICKED HIS HEELS

HE LET GO A LAUGH
HE LET GO A LAUGH
SHOOK BACK HIS CLOTHES ALL AROUND

MISTER BOJANGLES

MISTER BOJANGLES 

MISTER BOJANGLES 

WON'T YOU DANCE

HE DANCED FOR THOSE
AT MINSTREL SHOWS AND COUNTRY FAIRS
THROUGHOUT THE SOUTH

AND HE SPOKE WITH TEARS OF FIFTEEN YEARS
HOW HIS DOG AND HIM
HAD TRAVELED ABOUT

WELL THE DOG UP AND DIED
HE UP AND DIED
AFTER TWENTY YEARS HE STILL GRIEVES



HE SAID I DANCE NOW
AT EVERY CHANCE IN HONKY TONK
FOR DRINKS AND TIPS


BUT MOST THE TIME I SPEND
BEHIND THESE COUNTRY BARS
  CAUSE I DRINKS A BIT

HE SHOOK HIS HEAD
AND AS HE SHOOK HIS HEAD
I HEARD SOMEONE ASK 
PLEASE

 MISTER BOJANGLES
  MISTER BOJANGLES 
MISTER BOJANGLES 

WON'T YOU DANCE
WON'T YOU DANCE