i left my home in norfolk virginia california on my mind i straddled that greyhound and rode him into raleigh and on across caroline we stopped in charlotte and bypassed rock hill we never was a minute late we was ninety miles out of atlanta by sundown rolling outta the georgia state we had motor trouble it turned into a struggle halfway across alabam and that hound broke down and left us all stranded in downtown birmingham right away i bought me a through train ticket riding across mississippi clean and i was on that midnight flier out of birmingham smoking into new orleans somebody help me get out of louisiana just help me get to houston town there s people there who care a little about me and they won t let the poor boy down sure as you re born they bought me a silk suit put luggage in my hands and i woke up high over albuquerque on a jet to the promised land working on a t bone steak a la carte flying over to the golden state oh when the pilot told me us in thirteen minutes he would set us at the terminal gate swing low sweet chariot come down easy taxi to the terminal zone cut your engines and cool your wings and let me make it to the telephone los angeles give me norfolk virginia tidewater four ten o nine tell the folks back home this is the promised land calling and the poor boy s on the line