Lyrics Don Quixote - Gordon Lightfoot

Through the woodland, through the valley, comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing, who can the brave young horseman be?
He is wild, but he is mellow, he is strong, but he is weak
He is cruel, but he is gentle, he is wise, but he is meek

Reaching for his saddlebag, he takes a battered book into his hand
Standing like a prophet bold, he shouts across the ocean to the shore
'Til he can shout no more

I have come o'er moor and mountain like the hawk upon the wing
I was once a shining knight who was the guardian of a king
I have searched the whole world over, looking for a place to sleep
I have seen the strong survive, and I have seen the lean grow weak

See the children of the earth who wake to find the table bare
See the gentry in the country riding off to take the air

Reaching for his saddlebag, he takes a rusty sword into his hand
Then striking up a knightly pose, he shouts across the ocean to the shore
'Til he can shout no more

See the jailor with his key who locks away all trace of sin
See the judge upon the bench who tries the case as best he can
See the wise and wicked ones who feed upon life's sacred fire
See the soldier with his gun who must be dead to be admired

See the man who tips the needle, see the man who buys and sells
See the man who puts the collar on the ones who dare not tell
See the drunkard in the tavern stemming gold to make ends meet
See the youth in ghetto black condemned to life upon the street

Reaching for his saddlebag, he takes a tarnished cross into his hand
Standing like a preacher now, he shouts across the ocean to the shore
Then in a blaze of tangled hooves, he gallops off across the dusty plain
In vain to search again
Where no one will hear

Through the woodland, through the valley, comes a horseman wild and free
Tilting at the windmills passing, who can the brave young horseman be?
He is wild, but he is mellow, he is strong, but he is weak
He is cruel, but he is gentle, he is wise, but he is meek