It hardly seems a long time
  Just a minute of the day
  When the man that stood beside me
  More than gave himself away
  A food stain on his spotted shirt
  A gray beard on his face
  A man composed of many names
  So I just called him Ace
  
  Chorus:
  But Ace can't read and Ace can't write
  And he sleeps on a bench at night
  A little man the world has left behind
  He ain't bitter, he ain't sweet
  Makes his living on the street
  Never knowing what he's going to find
  
  Born in Mississippi
  Picking cotton as a child
  Left soon for the city
  Where he heard that life was wild
  That was fifty years ago
  When nothing's really strange
  >From a poor dirt farm to dirty streets
  That really ain't much change
  
  Chorus:
  But Ace can't read and Ace can't write
  And he sleeps on a bench at night
  A little man the world has left behind
  He ain't bitter, he ain't sweet
  Makes his living on the street
  Never knowing what he's going to find
  
  Go back to the country
  No he can't do that
  Wasted years have left him
  nothing but an old straw hat
  So he puts it on his head
  And waves his last god-bye
  With no time left to turn around
  And no time to ask why
  
  Chorus:
  But Ace can't read and Ace can't write
  And he sleeps on a bench at night
  A little man the world has left behind
  He ain't bitter, he ain't sweet
  Makes his living on the street
  Never knowing what he's going to find
  And this old world has left poor Ace behind