Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
I left T.O. quite some time ago
Sometime in the spring
With just a knapsack and a six string
I'd made this deal
I was barely 17
Armed with delusions of a dream
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Hitchhiked for days
All along the Northwest
With no knowledge in my chest, of ways and means and schemes
By the time I hit Seattle, I arrived by train
It was called the Empire Builder
I don't know how it got its name
Not even old enough to drink, but I always found a way
Often stumbling out onto the street
The moon shining on my back, singing
Da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
In a few more years
I would try again
This time with my friends who shared much of the same
The same sense of wonder or desire for faith
As the white lines hurdle past the asphalt
How quickly that would change
We headed out on the 401 feeling no pain
Until one day, somehow, that would all turn to shame
So much was in us at the time, it helped me to close my mind
And try not to think at all, as we braced for the fall
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
All the good that was promised in life was taken so easily
Turns out reality wasn't cracked up to be, what it was meant to be
When in doubt, I look back to when I was 17
And all those miles and miles and miles that I've seen
Each inch of pavement has a story to tell
Some I can't recall, others I remember all too well
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da