i m goin away cause i gotta busted heart i m leavin today if my travel all will start and i reckon where i m headed i might need me different clothes way up in michigan where the laughing river flows twenty years in the minor leagues ain t no place i didn t go well i gotta few hits but i never made the show and i could hang on for a few years doin what i ve done before i wanna hear the laughing river flowin right outside my door my cousin ray said he s got a job for me where the houses are cheap and he knows this nice lady he said she even saw me play once said she smiled at my name well upon the laughing river could be a whole new game so goodbye to the bus good bye to payin dues goodbye to the cheers and goodbye to the booze well i m trading in this old bat for a fishing pole i m gonna let the laughing river flow right into my soul 