i was young when i left home

i was young when i left home

and i been a-rambling 'round

and i never wrote a letter to my home

to my home

lord

to my home

and i never wrote a letter to my home

it was just the other day

i was bringing home my pay

when i met an old friend i used to know

said your mother's dead and gone

baby sister's all gone wrong

and your daddy needs you home right away

not a shirt on my back

not a penny on my name

but i can't go home this way

this way

lord

this way

lord

i can't go home this way

if you miss the train i'm on

count the days i'm gone

you will hear the whistle blow a hundred miles

hundred miles

honey baby

lord lord lord

and you'll hear that whistle blow a hundred miles

and i'm playing on a track

ma would come and whoop me back

on them trussels down by old jim mckay's

when i pay the debt i owe

to the commissary store

i will pawn my watch and chain and go home

go home

lord lord lord

i will pawn my watch and chain and go home

used to tell ma sometimes

when i see them riding blind

gonna make me a home out in the wind

in the wind

lord

lord

in the wind

gonna make me a home out in the wind

i don't like it in the wind

i'm a-go back home again

but i can't go home this way

this way

lord

this way

lord

i can't go home this way

i was young when i left home

and i been all rambling 'round

and i never wrote a letter to my home

to my home

lord lord lord

and i never wrote a letter to my home