Car lights on the highway, like pearls at night A string of red going my way alongside a string of white And I'm trying to remember just how free and lucky I am But I'm racing back and forth to nowhere, and I'm too tired to give a damn Sometimes I feel I've been suckered by a dream of living on the roam Turns out it's a lot like bein' a trucker, it's a lot of drivin' alone Pull into the next town, feeling weary and strange Seems I'm coming to resemble the very things I wanna change A room full of strangers, and I'm trying to connect But they only wanna hear what they've already heard, what did I expect? One says you're some kinda tripper, just following the muse along And I say it's a lot like being a stripper, a lot of trying to turn drunks on Those of us who'll do it, we'll do it anyway And that suits those who'll use it, cause they don't have to pay, and they say, It's about the music, not the fifty dollars, and aren't you having fun? And I say it's a lot like working blue-collar, a lot of just gettin 'er done I'm thinkin' bout a young girl who caught me off guard with her smile She was following roads and songs, and she rode along awhile Like the boiling ocean she crashed in and rolled out again She was in love with a vague notion, not this particular man, and she says Don't sweat when things don't go well, there'll be plenty more along your way And I say it's a lot like livin' in hotels, it's nice, but you can't stay You start out with something sacred that you wanna tell someone But this mean old world might break you, or you might just take the money and run And it might be good for your karma, and yeah, ramblin' has its thrills But it's more like being a farmer, strugglin to pay the bills Met a kid in a campground with a guitar and a head full of dreams Starting on a road I've been partway down with no idea what it means I wanted to warn him about some stuff up ahead But it occured to me that his road ain't mine, I should be telling myself instead And he says he might starve alone, but he's hopin' for some bright day And I say it's a lot like carving stone, you just keep chippin' away

I live in my van, and it's a fine place to live I sleep where I please, and wake smilin' There's no rent to pay, and I change the yard most every day From Halifax out to the Queen Charlotte Islands There's no shame in being a hobo And it's a great luxury to have a car And it seems to me that I'm one lucky mofo Sleeping out alone beneath the stars I loaned my friend Brin an orange tarp to curl up in Out drinkin' one rainy night in Vancouver And he thanked me two times, he was just so happy to be dry Though the police tried to make him feel like a loser There's no shame in being a hobo Shame's only for those who got pride And you gotta keep an eye out for the po-po But sometimes even the po-po will let you ride This one's on the house, sweet child, this one's on the house Save your money for another mile, this one's on the house Sleeping in parks, and living in cars, sneaking drinks into bars And washing up in lakes and truck-stops might be frowned on But you'll do what you must, get love from those you trust And get yourself to the road that you'll be found on There's no shame in being a hobo And we always get taken care of somehow And you sure can't take it with you when you go Might as well get used to livin' without now You sure can't take it with you when you go Might as well get used to livin' without now

These thoughts they would be nothin' if they weren't your thoughts too And if this bridge of words will bear our weight, I'll meet halfway with you Who knows what we're after, so who knows what we'll find Distraction and laughter are escape routes for the mind But this body only works so long, these lungs have just so many breaths Can't see the outside from within and you can't take both the right path and the left I chose this road I'm travelin' and I'd choose it again today Can't regret the time my heart spent beating by yours nor can I regret walking away Cause you're a lucky star You're burning out bright and true And it shines a light into my heart to be thought of by you I keep imagining a day and hoping it'll come soon Where I'd stumble off my way and I'll run into you And we'll agree that with circumstance and fate being what they are And with the hour being so late, we should just get out of this bar It was fiery while it lasted and it went out the way it came I'd like to say I'm past it, but I'm still moved by the mention of your name Whatever shores you reach, whatever good folks you come to know May they continue to teach, may you continue to burn, and shine, and grow

There's dirt on your heart from all the low-down, dirty places you been You dragged your poor heart through more than enough And more piled up from every time you lied And then kicked some dirt around to cover it up And from every one that gave you her love And you carelessly gave her back hurt There's dirt on your heart, You might think that it's art, it's just dirt You might think that it's art There's dirt on your heart that's hardened into a jacket To hold you through the cold and friendless months And you just never could bring yourself to crack it Remembering how well it served it you once But hearts that beat freely must surely be beaten Only bloodied and scuffed ones arrive And you believe that you need that dirt on your heart to survive Do you think you need to survive this world? There's dirt on your poor heart that's not your own Your friends and your family tracked it around And try as you might, you just can't always know And remember to pick up all that you put down And since you can't forget a mark on your heart Even when the one who left it's long gone There's some dirt on your heart that you'll have to scrub off on your own It hurts, but you scrub it off

Don't you go fallin' for the ramblin' kind Soon as you quit following you'll get left behind You can love 'em, believe in them, But don't you get to needin' em Nobody owns the ramblin' kind She was strong-backed and wild, and had the open highway in her heart And I loved the way she'd kick-start her bike, and roar off in the dark And I loved the far-away in her eye, as she'd stare off down the line I couldn't hold her heart but now that same highway cuts through mine Don't you go fallin' for a ramblin' girl Keep your eyes open when she takes you for a whirl You can hold her at night, but don't you hold her too tight Nobody owns a ramblin' girl I was tired and weary and had the feeling I'd been running way too long And her arms held sweet comfort, and her eyes held a song When we parted ways I tried to make a joke, but she just couldn't laugh We split like a wishbone, somehow I got the big half Don't you go fallin' for a ramblin' man He's just like water, he'll slip through your hands You can love him, you can touch him, but don't you try to clutch him Nobody owns a ramblin' man They just go speedin' by And you can ride with them for a stretch But the thing that caught your eye Is the one that you can't catch Don't you go fallin' for the ramblin' kind Soon as you quit following you'll get left behind You can love 'em, believe in them, But don't you get to needin' em Nobody owns the ramblin' kind

(traditional, arranged by Scott Cook) Shady grove, my little love, shady grove, I know Shady grove, my sweet love, bound for the shady grove Once I had an old banjo, strings were made of twine The only tune that it would play was trouble on my mind Once I had a gold banjo, and every string did shine The only tune that it would play was I wish that girl was mine Once I had a fine banjo, precious but frail And every weary tune on it said while you can, set sail Wish I was in shady grove, sittin' on a rocking chair And if the blues won't leave me alone, I'll rock away from there

People, please take my advice Be sure and treat your people extra nice Cause if it's real, they got your back 'til the end And there ain't nothing so good to find, or bad to lose as a friend, as a friend People, please take my advice There's no good sense in telling lies Cause while you may deceive those who believe it's true The real lie is forgetting that you are them and they are you, they are you Travelers, it may be a long way round Before you find yourself homeward bound But in your heart you can carry your family along Just as long as you remember where you got your song, where you got your song Though the air is wintry and the creek's all froze You can be sure that underneath the water flows And the birds are returning with southern songs New tunes that we'll be learning before too long, before too long

By and by, the weeds run high And a dusty wind blows over the old place Bit by bit, the memory of it Returns to haunt me in familiar voices along those old pathways Side by side, we laughed so hard we cried And stayed up all night, getting rowdy, and making a scene everywhere But day by day, some drift further away And some pass through the curtain, and we can't follow there What could ever stop this parade of days From takin' everything you love away? And what am I so afraid of? If it won't break your heart, it ain't love Line by line, this cruel world undermines All that you fought for, they suck the soul of it and give you back the grief Turn by turn, everyone learns To guard their speech, and knot up their heart in disbelief What could ever stop this parade of days From takin' everything you love away? And what am I so afraid of? If it won't break your heart, it ain't love If it won't break your heart If it won't break your heart, it ain't love

This old world's got its secrets to keep This old world's got its secrets to keep If it's certainy that you want, you can wish away all the doubts that haunt But this world's got its secrets to keep Back and forth under blue heaven Back and forth under blue heaven Oh, the places we have been, all this troubled time wandering Back and forth under blue heaven Don't ask yourself if you want to die on the road Just ask yourself if this is the road you want to die on This old world's got its secrets to keep This old world's got its secrets to keep If it's certainty that you crave, you'll be following it to your grave Cause the world's got its secrets to keep Back and forth under blue heaven Back and forth under blue heaven Oh, the loves that we have passed, we were winding our ways fast Back and forth under blue heaven Don't ask yourself if you want to die on the road Just ask yourself if this is the road you want to die on Out of the blue, and into the black Out of the blue, and into the black What it's like I wish they'd say, but they never come back this way It's just out of the blue, and into the black This old world's got its secrets to keep This old world's got its secrets to keep If it's certainy that you seek, you can wish away all the doubts that creep But this world's got its secrets to keep