Well I didn't see much future 
When I left the Christian brothers school 
So I waved it goodbye with a wistful smile  
And I left the girls of Tuam 
And sometimes when I'm reminiscing 
I see the prefabs and my old friends 
And I know that they'll be changed or gone 
By the time I get home again 

Chorus: 
And I wish I was on that N 17 
(Stone walls and the grasses green) 
Yes I wish I was on that N 17 
(Stone walls and the grasses green) 
Travelling with just my thoughts and dreams 

Well the ould fella left me to Shannon 
Was the last time I travelled that road 
and as I turned left at Claregalway  
I could feel a lump in my throat 
As I pictured the thousands of times 
That I travelled that well worn track 
And I know that things would be different 
If I ever decide to go back 

Chorus: 

Now as I tumble down highways 
Or filthy overcrowded trains 
There's no one to talk to in transit 
So I sit there and daydream in vain 
And behind all these muddled up problems  
Of living on a foreign soil 
I can still see the twists and turns on the road  
From the square to the town of the tribes 

Chorus X2