I was headed down south to the land of the pines
And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road
Pray to God I see headlights
Well, I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh
I can see my baby tonight
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey
Mama rock me
Well, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey
Mama rock me
I was runnin' from the cold up in New England
I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time stringband
My baby plays the guitar
I pick a banjo now
Oh no, the North country winters keep a gettin' me now
Lost my money playin' poker so I had to up and leave
But I ain't a turnin' back
To livin' that old life no more
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey
Mama rock me
Well, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey
Mama rock me
Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly
Had a nice long toke
But he's a headed west from the Cumberland Gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee
And I gotta get a move on before for the sun
I hear my baby callin' my name
And I know that she's the only one
And if I die in Raleigh
At least I will die free, yeah
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey
Mama rock me
Well, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey
Mama rock me