I can't believe this has never been posted at Mudcat before!

Lyrics copied from http://www.coquetshack.com/lyrics/Lyrics_P/Pilgrim_0242.htm

THE PILGRIM (CHAPTER 33)
(Kris Kristofferson, © Resaca Music Publishing Co. 1971.)

See him wasted on the sidewalk in his jacket and his jeans,
Wearing yesterday's misfortunes like a smile.
Once he had a future full of money, love, and dreams,
Which he spent like they was going out of style.
And he keeps right on a-changing for the better or the worse,
Searching for a shrine he's never found,
Never knowing if believing is a blessing or a curse,
Or if the going up was worth the coming down.

CHORUS: He's a poet, and he's a picker.
He's a prophet, and he's a pusher.
He's a pilgrim and a preacher,
And a problem when he's stoned.
He's a walking contradiction,
Partly truth and partly fiction,
Taking ev'ry wrong direction
On his lonely way back home.

He has tasted good and evil in your bedrooms and your bars,
And he's traded in tomorrow for today.
Running from his devils, Lord, and reaching for the stars,
Losing all he loved along the way.
But if this world keeps right on turning, for the better or the worse,
And all he ever gets is older and around.
From the rocking of the cradle to the rolling of the hearse,
The going up was worth the coming down. CHORUS

An' there's a lotta wrong directions on that lonely way back home

[Recorded by Kris Kristofferson on "Cisco Pike", 1971, and on several subsequent albums. Also recorded by Willie Nelson and Teresa Brewer.]