Original James Taylor version
There is a young cowboy, he lives on the range
His horse and his cattle are his only companions
He works in the saddle and he sleeps in the canyons
Waiting for summer, his pastures to change
As the moon rises he sits by his fire
Thinking about women and glasses of beer
And closing his eyes as the doggies retire
He sings out a song which is soft but it's clear
As if maybe someone could hear
Goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rock-a-bye sweet baby James
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rock-a-bye sweet baby James
Now the first of December was covered with snow
So was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston
Though the Berkshires seemed dreamlike on account of that frosting
With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to go whoa
There's a song that they sing when they take to the highway
A song that they sing when they take to the sea
A song that they sing of their home in the sky
Maybe you can believe it if it helps you to sleep
But singing works just fine for me
So goodnight you moonlight ladies
Rock-a-bye sweet baby James
Deep greens and blues are the colors I choose
Won't you let me go down in my dreams
And rock-a-bye sweet baby James
SWEET BABY JAMES is a song written by James Taylor who released it on his 1970 album Sweet Baby James. The above lyrics are for the original James Taylor version of SWEET BABY JAMES as released in 1970.
Bruce Springsteen has never performed SWEET BABY JAMES live in full, but he once used the song's opening line in GARDEN STATE PARKWAY BLUES in 1970. See the live 24 Apr 1970 version of GARDEN STATE PARKWAY BLUES for more details.
List of available versions of SWEET BABY JAMES on this website:
SWEET BABY JAMES [Original James Taylor version]