He was driving home one evening, In his beat up Pontiac When an old lady flagged him down, Her Mercedes had a flat He could see that she was frightened, Standing out there in the snow 'Til he said I'm here to help you ma'am, By the way my name is Joe
She said I'm from St. Louis, And I'm only passing through I must have seen a hundred cars go by, This is awful nice of you When he changed the tire, And closed her trunk And was about to drive away, She said how much do I owe you Here's what he had to say
You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too Someone once helped me out, Just the way I'm helping you If you really want to pay me back, Here's what you do Don't let the chain of love end with you
Well a few miles down the road, The lady saw a small cafe She went in to grab a bite to eat, And then be on her way But she couldn't help but notice, How the waitress smiled so sweet And how she must've been eight months along, And dead on her feet
And though she didn't know her story, And she probably never will When the waitress went to get her change, From a hundred dollar bill The lady slipped right out the door, And on a napkin left a note There were tears in the waitress's eyes, When she read what she wrote
You don't owe me a thing, I've been there too Someone once helped me out, Just the way I'm helping you If you really want to pay me back, Here's what you do Don't let the chain of love end with you
That night when she got home from work, The waitress climbed into bed She was thinkin' about the money, And what the lady's note had said As her husband lay there sleeping, She whispered soft and low Everything's gonna be alright, I love you, Joe