Homeless by Redeye

V1
He was standing on the corner with a worn out cardboard sign
that said "I am a veteran, can you spare a dime?"
Hollow cheeks and bloodshot eyes,
A mangey dog sitting by his side
Any other day I would have walked right by
But there was something that caught my eye

V2
All that he owned in a plastic sack propped against the wall behind his back,
Laying on top was a faded photograph
Black and white with edges curled
It was a picture of a pretty girl
In a field of flowers with newborn child
Well I asked him 'bout it and he spoke awhile

Bridge
She's the one that rescued me from Viet Nam
Her gentle spirit healed this broken empty man
We made a home, raised a family
Celebrated every anniversary
On our thirtieth when driving home I wrecked
The judge told me that he fully understood
That I'd lost everything in my life that was any good
But the law was clear he sentenced me
Seven years in the penitentiary
When I got out that picture's all was left

V3
When he finished with his story there was a tear drop in his eye
And I thought, "But for the grace of God there go I"
Will you judge a man by who he knows
But what he spends and where he goes
Or by how he's lived and what he's learned
By what's been given, what's been taken, what's been earned?