Jeezikers, BlueJay, that is a tough tale indeed. I can understand your wanting to move on after that.

One of the songs that always embodied the hobo style to me was my grandfather's rendition of "Hallelujah, I'm a Bum" -- not that all 'bos are, of course. And part of the romanticism has to be laid at the door of "The Big Rock Candy Mountain", which glamorized the life of the 'bo in stark contrast to the realities -- for example, as described in "My Rambling Boy".