We left home when we was barely past eleven-teen
We've been back and forth and all around through hell and rain
I've loved you half of your life and I'll keep on loving you
But I can't change and live the way you want me to

We spend a lot of time out on the highway
Coming from some town we played along the way
After thirty years of knowing me the way you do
You know I can't change and live the way you want me to

But babe, that red bandana tied around your auburn hair
You look like you oughta be somebody's wife somewhere
You ain't never gonna be no Bobby McGee, but you're trying to
But I can't change and live the way you want me to

Every time you leave the stage, I know you've had your fill
And I wonder why you grew up and why I never will
Hey I'm forty-one today still going on twenty-two
But I can't change and live the way you want me to

That red bandana tied around your auburn hair
You look like you oughta be somebody's wife somewhere
You ain't never gonna be no Bobby McGee, but you're trying to
But I can't change and live the way you want me to
No, I can't change and live the way you want me to