Call him doctor, call him king
Damn near called him anything
I don't think he even really knows
Black and blue and full of holes
Poor young girl done lost her soul
Lost her innocence and lost her clothes
I met people, they've told stories
About kings and queens and glory
Love and war, and hearts that broke so long ago
But just like God, I sat and listened
As the tales, they stretched like fences
Where they start and where they stop
Nobody knows
Where did they go?
Where did they go?
Oh, tell me quick so I can choose another road
Where did they go?
Where did they go?
Oh, tell me quick so I can choose another road
I met a writer, twenty-five
He said he thought of suicide
But he just killed off characters instead
I met a whore from New Orleans
Who said she dreamed of better things
But dreams were just a movie in her head
A friend came home from years of war
But wasn't like he was before
Drank all day to end the aching pain
Well, I met a preacher, old and gray
Said that he had lost his way
Knew that it was him he couldn't save
I met people, they've told stories
About kings and queens and glory
Love and war, and hearts that broke so long ago
But just like God, I sat and listened
As the tales, they stretched like fences
Where they start and where they stop
Nobody knows
Where did they go?
Where did they go?
Oh, tell me quick so I can choose another road
Where did they go?
Where did they go?
Oh, tell me quick so I can choose another road
Wrote a song when he was young
He sang with force, but not enough
Never know how hard he really tried
I'm in a state you'll never see
But there's no place I'd rather be
'Cept maybe somewhere deep down in the south
A miner came back from the earth
He's covered up in soot and dirt
Prayed his sons would never do without
A met a mystic who made the wheel
Twisted rivers out of steel
With every thought he had, he would astound
Where did they go?
Where did they go?
Oh, tell me quick so I can choose another road
Where did they go?
Where did they go?
Oh, tell me quick so I can loosen up my load
So I can loosen up my load