This Road
The road stirs in the distance
I stop and strain to view (I stop to take a look)
Across the bridge around the bend
Another passing through (he's goin' faster than he should)
He trails the road behind him
Never waves or slows
A headlong flight to somewhere else
He hurries down the road
Who is this passing stranger
Who travels all alone
Along some road to nowhere
So far away from home
I watch him at the crossing
I watch him fade to dust
He travels when he wants to
I travel when I must
This road was young when my granddad
First plowed this tired land
This road saw neighbors come and go
And come and go again
Across the river, through the gap
Back and forth they flowed
Out of mem'ry, out of sight
And out of this old road
I remember all the young men
Their call came loud and clear:
Get a job, get a car
Get the hell away from here
And, one by one, they all were blown
Like dust upon the wind
Till what was left were those who found
The road back home again
This road was young when my granddad
First plowed this tired land
This road saw neighbors come and go
And come and go again
Across the river, through the gap
Back and forth they flowed
Out of mem'ry, out of sight
And out of this old road
I guess the day will finally come
When this road's just like the rest
No wild thread, but straight and wide
Where cars pass two abreast
There'll be no place for folks like me
No place for sweet and slow
Down the highway fast and fierce
A long time down this road
This road was young when my granddad
First plowed this tired land
This road saw neighbors come and go
And come and go again
Across the river, through the gap
Back and forth they flowed
Out of mem'ry, out of sight
And out of this old road
For the sweetest days are the days I've known
Standing here by the side of the road
Watching others come and go
At home on this old road