It's long to ride for the little I gain

It's ryegrass in the wintertime, and flowers in the spring

But Texas in the summer is nigh on suffering

I went up on Jackson Hill, at a diner I sat down

And I waved at every stranger just to move the air around

Hey when I left that Brooklyn girl, I never thought it through

She had silk brocade in her bedroom and a job that paid for two

Think I'll get down the old guitar and see what I may find

Get a dollar off some lawyer on the number seven line

It's long to ride for the little I gain

These New York folks'll treat you kind if your wallet's in your hand

But a six-string on your shoulder, might as well be the devil's brand

Well, they'll put themselves above you but for all that struttin' and brag

I'd trade every brick on Wall Street for one Black Mountain Rag

A road back to my boyhood, if I could only go

There's a little girl that stole my heart and I think she’d like to know

Yeah the road it goes but one way and the only goal in sight

Is to make a little more in the daytime than I drink down at night

It's long to ride for the little I gain

They say the Norfolk girls are fair and they all sing right on key

But I went down and I never found one sang as good as me

And they say that there's a wondrous land for any good man that dies

And if it's got drink and women well then I'll be surprised

It's long to ride for the little I gain

It's long to ride for the little I gain

It's long to ride