Well I left my home out on the great high plains
Headin' for some new terrain
Standin' on the highway with my coffee cup
Wondering who was gonna pick me up
I had my hopes up high
I never thought that I
Would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye
I had my hopes up high
Well the first ride I got was in a dynamite truck
The driver kept tellin' me he had bad luck
As we swerved around the curves, I began to shout
I said, "Hey, mister would you let me out?"
I had my hopes up high
I never thought that I
Would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye
I had my hopes up high
And the next ride I got was with a man in trouble
Beard on his face was all in a stubble
Runnin' from the law, he was goin' 99
I said, "Hey, mister you're out of your mind"
I had my hopes up high
I never thought that I
Would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye
I had my hopes up high
And the next ride I got was with a preacher man
Told me that the wicked would be buried in sin
I don't know why I did it but I lost control
I said, "Hey, papa would you save my soul?"
I had my hopes up high
I never thought that I
Would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye
I had my hopes up high
Well I finally got a ride on a carnival train
Nearly blew away in a hurricane
I got to thinkin' 'bout the preacher down in Louisianne
Now I'm sittin' on the Delta siftin' sand
I had my hopes up high
I never thought that I
Would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye
I had my hopes up high
I never thought I
Would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye
I had my hopes up high