Iron And Wooden Road

1. My daddy was a railroad man
My daddy was a railroad man
I grew up by the lights of lanterns
An' coal oil on daddy's hands.

Come rain or sleet or snow
That lonesome whistle blows
And carried him away
Down this iron and wooden road.

[Chorus:]
I'm standing on the gravel
As the light of evening fails
Now the weeds grow through the cross ties
And the rust eats at the rails.

And way off in the distance
Crows are laughing in the sun
Across the hills and valleys
That old silver ribbon runs
But you know, there's no place left to go
Down this iron and wooden road.

2. The cottonfields they grow old
And we all went away
To find our many loaves
And weaving gold from hay.

Sometimes in the night
When reaching for your hand
I see the moonbeams glowing
Down that iron and wooden road

[Chorus]

3. I traveled to the sea
The oceans far and wide
And in the spring of youth
I took for me a wife.

And growing old ourselves
We searched for freedom's grace
And finally travelled home
On that iron and wooden road.

[Chorus]

[Coda:]
And then one night in the freezin' cold
I watched the lights fade in the snow
I waved goodbye, but you know this time
He did not come home.

I swore right there and then
That when I grew to be a man
I would pack my things and follow
Down this iron and wooden road.