Well, I left my home out on the Great High Plains Headed for some new terrain Standin' on the highway with my coffee cup A wonderin' who was gonna pick me up I had my hopes up high, I never thought That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye I had my hopes up high Well, the first ride I got was in a dynamite truck The driver kept tellin' me his bad luck As we swerved around the curves, I began to shout I said, "Hey mister would you let me out?" I had my hopes up high, I never thought That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye I had my hopes up high And the next ride I got was with a man in trouble The beard on his face was all in a stubble Runnin' from the law he was goin' ninety-nine I said, "Hey mister, you're out of your mind" I had my hopes up high, I never thought That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye I had my hopes up high And the next ride I got was with a preacher man Told me that the wicked would be buried in sand I don't know why I did it but I lost control I said, "Ho Papa, would you save my soul?" I had my hopes up high, I never thought That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye I had my hopes up high And I finally got a ride on a carnival train Nearly blew away in a hurricane I got to thinkin' bout that preacher down in Louisianne Now I'm sittin' on the Delta Siftin' sand I had my hopes up high, I never thought That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye I had my hopes up high I never thought That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye I had my hopes up high