I was just a small town country boy When I left that country town Route 66 to the Westward And hopped an old freight down California here I come By the side door Pullman and the sunburnt thumb And they called us Okies, lowdown bums And the police on us frowned
Chorus: Never tire of the road Never tire of the rolling wheel Never tire of the ways of the world Way out yonder is a-calling me And the dark road leads me onwards And the highway, that's my code And the lonesome voice that I heard said Never tire of the road
California to the New York Island Me and my guitar And we played in many a hobo jungle Many a skid row bar Standing out in the wind and the rain That lonesome whistle is a sweet refrain When you are waiting for some old freight train That carries an empty car.
Don't let them ever fool you Or take you by surprise That dirty smell of a politician And the man with the greed in his eyes One big union, that's our plan And the IWW"s your only man The flames of discontent we'll fan For the cause that never dies