[Verse 1]
On a cold, concrete sidewalk
On the corner of Fifth and Main
Sits an old Black blind man
And no one knows his name
He plays the same old guitar
He plays the same old tune
And when the people pass him by
Some are heard to say

[Refrain]
“Play, let the blind man play”

[Verse 2]
He was a cotton picker
Down in Alabam'
Daddy never amounted to much
Died by his own hand
He lost his sight one terrible night
By the hand of the Ku Klux Klan
Burned his eyes with a branding iron
Some are heard to say

[Chorus]
"Play, let the blind man play"
Maybe you’ll be around another day
Dreaming about those little things you know you’ll never see
So play, let the blind man play, let the blind man play
[Verse 3]
The years were kind while the man was blind
But he knew his time was due
And no one cried when the blind man died
With the name that no one knew
They made his coffin out of knotty pine
With a wreath of laurel too
His epitaph was short and sweet
And all it said was "Play"

[Chorus]
Play, let the blind man play
Maybe you’ll be around another day
Dreaming about those little things you know you’ll never see
So play, let the blind man play, let the blind man play
Maybe you’ll be around another day
Dreaming about those little things you know you’ll never see
So play, let the blind man play, let the blind man play

[Outro]
Play that guitar, blind man