Well I woke up this morning when the cold Chicago wind

Blew my newspaper blanket off my back

Through my dirty broken window the grey sun filtered in

As I dreamed about the Southbound railroad track

I could almost hear the crickets in a sleepy cottonfield

As daddy drove our vagon to Virgin

But today I'd give a fortune for a twenty five cent meal

And I wish I was a country boy again

So let me ride on the Southbound

Back to where I came from I don't care or where I am

So let me ride on the Southbound and put me off somewhere near Birmingham

[ steel ]

What happened to my vision of a mansion on a hill

And the fame and fortune I came here to win

I've got nothing but the roaches running cross my window sill

And I wish I was a country boy again

So let me ride ...