Just out of rehab, he'd been twenty-eight days clean
A genuine, certified recovered dope fiend
Just when we thought he'd put that drug all in his past
He walked on down to Broadway, and that boy done relapsed
Huh, I just had a laugh

[Chorus]
You get knocked off that horse, you get back on again
Just the way it is, hey, and the way it's always been
No moral to the story, yeah, it's just got an end
You get knocked off that horse, you get back on again

[Verse 2]
Buddy of mine got busted on a charge of possession
All the time he served, you woulda thought he'd learned himself some sort of lesson
But he walked right out of jail into a shootin' gallery
And now he's servin' seven years on a second felony
Ain't that just like a junky?

[Chorus]
You get knocked off that horse, you get back on again
Just the way it is and the way it's always been
No moral to the story, yeah, it's just got an end
You get knocked off that horse, you get back on again

[Verse 3]
They found him facedown in a needle and a spoon
Picked him up and dropped him off at the emergency room (See ya later, buddy!)
They all knew our friend, he was DOA
He rode off t'ward that sunset with a smile on his face
Ain't that just like a John Wayne?
[Chorus]
You get knocked off that horse, you get back on again
Just the way it is, hey, and the way it's always been
No moral to the story, yeah, it's just got an end
You get knocked off that horse, you get back on again

[Outro]
Aw, ride on!