The Ghost of Tom Joad

The Ghost Of Tom Joad

Man walkin‘ long the railroad tracks
Goin‘ some place there’s no going back
Highway patrol choppers comin‘ up over the ridge
Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin‘ round the corner
Welcome to the new world oder
Families sleepin‘ in their cars in the Southwest
No home no job no peace no rest

The highway is alive tonight
But nobody’s kiddin‘ nobody about where it goes
I’m sittin‘ down here in the campfire light
Searchin‘ for the ghost of Tom Joad

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and talks a drag
Waitin‘ for when the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard book neath the underpass
Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin‘ in the city aquaeduct

The highway is alive tonight
Where it’s headed everybody knows
I’m sittin‘ down here in the campfire light
Searchin‘ for the ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom said: „Mom, wherever there’s cop beatin‘ a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there’s a fight gainst blood and hatred in the air
Look for me Mom I’ll be there
Wherever there’s somebody fightin‘ for a place to stand
Or decent job or helping hand
Wherever somebody’s strugglin‘ to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you’ll see me

Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody’s kiddin‘ nobody about where it goes
I’m sittin‘ down here in the campfire light
Searchin‘ for the ghost of Tom Joad

Bruce Springsteen