Well I left my home out on the great high planes Headed for some new terrains Standin' on the highway with my coffee cup Wonderin' who's gonna pick me up [R:] 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 Beard on his face was all and a stubble Runnin' from the law, he was goin' 99 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 sin I don't know why I did it but I lost control I said, "Hey, 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 Well I finally got a ride on a carnival train Nearly blew away in a hurricane I got to thinkin' 'bout the preacher down in Louisiana 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