Ballad of a Young Troubadour

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da I left T.O. quite some time ago Sometime in the spring With just a knapsack and a six string I'd made this deal I was barely 17 Armed with delusions of a dream Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Hitchhiked for days All along the Northwest With no knowledge in my chest, of ways and means and schemes By the time I hit Seattle, I arrived by train It was called the Empire Builder I don't know how it got its name Not even old enough to drink, but I always found a way Often stumbling out onto the street The moon shining on my back, singing Da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da In a few more years I would try again This time with my friends who shared much of the same The same sense of wonder or desire for faith As the white lines hurdle past the asphalt How quickly that would change We headed out on the 401 feeling no pain Until one day, somehow, that would all turn to shame So much was in us at the time, it helped me to close my mind And try not to think at all, as we braced for the fall Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da All the good that was promised in life was taken so easily Turns out reality wasn't cracked up to be, what it was meant to be When in doubt, I look back to when I was 17 And all those miles and miles and miles that I've seen Each inch of pavement has a story to tell Some I can't recall, others I remember all too well Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da