I Found a Stray - Richard Thompson

I found a stray at my back door

She was a hungry, shivering sore

Her dress was rags, her shoes were holes

I found a stray at my back door

I washed the dirt from off her face

I tucked her clean into my bed

But I could never wash away

The voices calling in her head

Sometimes a smile played on her lips

That gave me joy where there was none

Until the shadow crossed her face

Like the moon across the sun

Whatever life she had to live

It was a life of moving on

I woke up one day to find

My little stray had come and gone

And she’ll be out there round the road

If she’s not picked up by the law

Or she’ll be lying nearly dying

At another stranger’s door

I found a stray at my back door

She was a hungry, shivering sore

Her dress was rags, her shoes were holes

I found a stray at my back door

I found a stray at my back door