i miss the wild runnin’ rivers
slow moving freight trains.
wide open spaces
with mountains in the distance.
the nights i slept in the desert
and the stars filled the sky.
every journey i took,
where getting lost was half the fun.
i got nothing to live up to,
nothing to live down.
nothing pushing me forward
or holding me back.
iain’t waiting for no one,
or what’s passing me by.
i try to live in the moment
ain’t trying to live a lie.
the illusions of freedom
and trying to fit in.
where the price of success
is a prison of the mind.
the time that is wasted
being some one that you’re not.
all the time that’s wasted…
trying to find what’s been lost
in the days of my youth
i’d wander the streets.
down the alleys to the train yard
where the hobos would sleep.
as they told me their stories
i would listen in awe.
couldn’t wait to get older
and head out on my own.
i learned the rules of the road
living outside the law.
where all a man had was his word
and the clothes on his back.
i picked up an old guitar
somewhere along the way.
my footsteps played the rhythm
to the words in my heart.
the world was my teacher
andi tried to understand,
why a few had it all
while most struggled to get by.
in the jails i did learn
no-one’s equal at all.
that money and power
itmade all the laws.
i wore my blue collar
played with calloused hands.
sang my songs of justice
for the working man.
with a faith that was blind
i stood my ground.
andi can say with pride…
thati never backed down.
all the places i’ve been,
the roads i have traveled.
all the times i thought
i had found me a home.
always seemed to be
one more horizon,
one more hard lesson
i had to learn on my own.
my time it ain’t long
andthe light’s slowly fading.
i’ve got no regrets,
iwouldn’t change a thing.
like a ripple on a pond,
reaching the shore line.
still water’s all that’s left
when the journey is done.
when that north wind blows
she drifts into my mind.
i remember her face,
and a long good-bye.
iain’t saying that i miss her
or what might have been.
i just can’t help but wonder
if she still thinks of me.
© Michael de Jong ® Dutch Uncle Music STEMRA 2009
