Red Hayes - A Satisfied Mind

First performance: 23/03/1988


Coverinfo

Bruce performed this song during a wonderful soundcheck with a lot of covers :
 
1988-03-23 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA 
 
Soundcheck covers : 
 

Songinfo

"A Satisfied Mind" is a song written by Joe "Red" Hayes and Jack Rhodes. Hayes explained the origin of the song in an interview:
 
"The song came from my mother. Everything in the song are things I heard her say over the years. I put a lot of thought into the song before I came up with the title. One day my father-in-law asked me who I thought the richest man in the world was, and I mentioned some names. He said, 'You're wrong; it is the man with a satisfied mind.'Joseph (Joe) Hayes (born November 12, 1945) is an American author and teller of stories mainly found in the folklore of the American Southwest. Hayes was an early pioneer of bilingual Spanish/English storytelling.
 
 
 

Bruce on the artist

Lyrics

How many times have you heard someone say,
"If I had his money I'd do things my way."
But little they know that it's so hard to find
One rich man in ten with a satisfied mind.
Once I was winning in fortune and fame;
Everything that I dreamed for to get a start in lifes game.
But suddenly it happened, I lost every dime,
But I'm richer by far with a satisfied mind.

Money can't buy back your youth when you're old
Or a friend when you're lonely or a love that's grown cold;
The wealthiest person is a pauper at times
Compared to the man with a satisfied mind.

When life has ended, my time has run out,
My friends and my loved ones I'll leave, there's no doubt.
But one thing for certain, when it comes my time,
I'll leave this old world with a satisfied mind.