After all this time, you never thought you'd still be out on the road.
Like a gypsy, I was born to roam like a wanderer with no fixed abode.
I think about the friends I've left behind on the road.
Well the road's been rocky along the way;
It's been a long hard haul on the motor way,
And if it gets too smooth, it's time to call it a day.  On the road!
The bed and breakfasts and the greasy spoons,  The Road!
The loosin' cards and the noisy rooms,  The Road!
The casualties who gave to many lives,  The Road!
I've wasted talent on women and wine.
I think of all the friends I've left behind
Whenever it's time to get back out on the road.

Started playin' blues in a coffee bar
I took a trip down to China, Glasgow,
With my imitation French guitar
And my head full of songs and my eyes full of stars.
Saw a band called the Rolling Stones-
I thought, "That's it!  I'll get a band! I'm leavin' home - I'm out on the road!"
On motor ways all over this land
Faraway places like Bickham and Birmingham
Didn't have no name - Didn't have any fans -
Didn't have no money so we slept in the van.
All those early gigs we ever played;
Sometimes we were lucky if we even got paid on the road.
Pete played on the bass guitar,
Liked to get around mixing with all the stars.
But Mrs. Avery's child was all fingers and thumbs,
And seldom was a rocker settin' time on the drums!
While Dave's the rage hittin' the rock and roll riffs,
Yours truly strummed away with a slightly limp wrist on the road!

There are days when I can't get used to it-
There are days when I can't get away-
Another day; another freeway to face - That's the road.
Well life is a road - it's a motor way -
And the road gets rocky along the way,
But if it gets too smooth, it's time to call it a day.  The Road!
Jimmy Hendrix, the Who, Them, Led Zeppelin, and Free - The Road!
They took the road so it's all right by me. The Road!
Some are survivors and some of them break. The Road!
If you play in a band, that's the road that you take.
Livin' it - eatin' it - sleepin' it -
You wake up in the morning - What do you see?
The road!

Life is a road it's a motor way...
Lost a lot of good friends along the way.
All the families and homes that I've left behind;
To the wives and the lovers and friends who had their time,
I say, "You take your road and I'll take mine."  You take your road and I'll take mine.
"You take your road and I'll take mine."  You take your road and I'll take mine.

Life is a road - it's a motor way...
And the road gets rocky along the way,
But if it gets too smooth, it's time to call it a day. On the Road!
Observed all the various phases from
Flower Power, Heavy Metal, and Acid Rock.
But still all the critics keep sayin',
"Are they still around?  When are they gonna stop?"
It's just the Dedicated Followers of Fashion who like putting down all the Well Respected Men who Came Dancin' and they're still on The Road. The Road!
Sometimes I get suicidal. The Road!
Now everyone is a rival. The Road!
Different cars, different pads, and hotels. The Road!
Corporations, big business, and angles.
When it all gets too bad I think back;
Well, we were all each other had when we started out on the road.
And there's gas in my tank and I've still got a way to go.
Another hotel - It's time to check out soon -
As I look around the room,
I think of all the friends I've left behind on the road.
The Road!