Gotta keep on rollin’, gonna hitch a ride
Want to see this country with my own two eyes
It’s an open road, you take your chances
When you’re young and out in the big world all alone

My backpack strapped upon my back, I waited for a ride
My arm outstretched, thumb pointed west, chance would be my guide
Hours came and hours went, the sun was sinking low
With zero miles behind me and three thousand miles to go

Spent the night behind a bush off Highway 24
Mosquitoes swarmed around my head, my flesh could stand no more
I took my sign across the street to a truckstop restaurant
Next thing I remember I was riding up in front – on 18 wheels!

I stopped to see my sister on Short Mountain, Tennessee
She put me in the barn with all the chickens and the sheep

Crossed the bridge from Paducah to the home of Superman
Policeman called me over, “Son, I have to take you in.”
A local from Metropolis said, “I’ll give that boy a ride.
I’ll take him to the edge of town, to the Massac County line.”
Standing on a cloverleaf waiting for a ride to come
A quiet summer afternoon I thought my day was done
Suddenly a man appeared out on the overpass
With pants pulled down below his knees he gestured with his hands

A couple with a pickup truck on their way to Laramie
Tossed their keys and said, “You drive, we really need some sleep.”

Around Salt Lake and through the flats beyond the Great Divide
The desert from its searing sun gave little place to hide
I took a ride in Reno from two crazy hippie freaks
They got me stoned, those mountain roads, man they sure seemed steep – Don’t look down!
Gotta keep on rollin’, rollin’, gonna hitch a ride
Want to see this country with my own two eyes
It’s an open road, you take your chances
When you’re young and out in the big world all alone
When you’re young and out in the big world all alone
@ Jim Petrie 2013. All rights reserved.