Head down, he didn't see me stop
to see his copper laid out on the sidewalk shop
I pointed and said, "How much for that one?"
He saw my guitar and said, "Half price for a song."

One song turned to into four or five
watching this genius work
said he was a squatter, staying where he could
Said they taught him how to steal
how to lie in his younger days

Then he figured out how to make
something outta nothing
with something they just throw away

I learned a lesson, I got a song
from the street scholar handy crafter
Copper John

He shoulda asked fifty, thought he'd ask thirty
said it was twenty and give it to me for ten and a song
Everyone that passed him knew his name and asked him,
"Hey, John, how's it going?"

I learned a lesson, I got a song
from the street scholar handy crafter
Copper John

I see him on the street from time to time
Buy his handworked copper with an honorable shine
A man hard-pressed to lose still found
a way to stand his ground

I learned a lesson, I got a song
from the street scholar handy crafter
Copper John