I had a dog when I was just 14
Went sniffin' down a bear that lived upstream
I swear that dog was looking for a fight
She really could bark and she really could bite
Well she came home with a bloody black mane
And her bark and her bite never quite the same
Never heard a word from that big brown bear
Who lived in the hollow where the creek ran fair
I was a good boy; I did just right
But a bad man grew out of me one night
I lost my lover in a starless sky
With the curse and the spite of a word let fly
A part of me knows it's my daddy's way
Yelling some things that you mean to say
A part of me knew that it would be our time
When she woke one day without a hand in mine
Left my soul on the side of the road
Where the state line runs and the liquor flows
I ran back to an empty home
Where the little black dog and the bear once roamed
I went into a chapel last Easter time
A choir was singing "He's a Friend of Mine"
I bowed my head and I said my prayers
And I wished to God that my lover was there
The silver moon and the golden sun
The countless stars like everyone
I see myself like a grain of sand
Or a little black dog tryin' to make a stand
Give me a car and an open road
A song to sing and a place to go
Give me my dreams and give me my past
Give me a way to make good times last
I had a dog when I was just 14
Went sniffin' down a bear that lived upstream