Ironweed is also the name of a novel by William Kennedy set in Albany, New York during the 1930s. The main character is a homeless alcoholic who lived a long life of hardship before becoming a hobo as a failed escape. Instead of escaping his troubles he ends up alone with his memories and is tortured by questions of conscience from his past that appear as figures of dead men that he's known and even killed haunting his dreams and asking him hard questions about his life.
A (very good) movie was also made from this story. The screen play was written by the author of the book, so it is pretty much true to the book.
The movie features Jack Nicholson, Tom Waits, and Meryl Streep. I would say read the book and watch the movie, they are both worth it, although somewhat heavy.