The Open Road Sons Songtext
von Peter Case

On the raggedy wooded outskirts of the city
Where the ancient elevators store the grain
And the long lake boats that used to haul the metal
Are in the dock a-rusting with the rain
There′s a maritime supply beneath the skyway
My father took me there to buy a rope
The store is dark and jammed with all you needed
On a jury bound for the Cape of Good Hope

I'll seek my fortune in the wide world
Take my chances in the cold
Come what may I′ll be okay
If I could only find a stretch of open road


A mysterious figure passes on the sidewalk
In ragged clothes, father I say how come
He wears several dirty jackets and a topcoat
My father nods and said son that man's a bum
I looked again and saw the rapt expression
'Neath the floppy hat he tipped back with his thumb
The aura of a world′s ragtime adventure
I said when I grow up I want to be a bum

I′ll seek my fortune in the wide world
Take my chances in the cold
Come what may I'll be okay
If I could only find a stretch of open road

Now I′m traveling a world that's filled with war zones
Listening to music we′ve destroyed
Praying to a God who's just a tyrant
For work that′s just like being unemployed
Eating food that's pumped with fat and water
Reading books with nothing on the page
Sitting in the dark to watch a picture
You're better hungry watching a bare stage

I′ll seek my fortune in the wide world
Take my chances in the cold
Come what may I′ll be okay
Somewhere there's a stretch of open road