i was trapped in a land where the meek and the wealthy
set fire to courage in the streets every night
i felt their eyes on my back so i packed my things quickly
and was three hours gone by the time of first light

the moon was a pendant round the neck of the heavens
the river was empty, caked with the drought
my mind danced through past, future and present
my thoughts were of her the night i set out

riding on roads wide as the prairies
with a match in my pocket, and a pipe, and a pearl
living on bread, apples, and whiskey
and the dream of the day i could come back to the world

i stopped to rest in a fishing port town
where underneath battlements the elders sang songs
from twilight they sang till the torches burned down
then one of them approached me and looked at me long

he said, “i see that you’re lost. let me lend you a hand.
“i can’t give you the map, but i can show you the center.
“the center is here, in the place where you stand.
“you’ll find the rest on your travels, if you only remember.”

riding on roads wide as the prairies
with a match in my pocket, and a pipe, and a pearl
living on bread, apples, and whiskey
and the dream of the day i could come back to the world

i lit out in search of the map he described
each place i stopped had a piece to be found
with guile and charm, blackmail and bribes
i collected the pieces as i went town to town

the seasons, they cycled as i searched all the land
and on a warm august night i found the last piece i needed
the map was shaped just like the palm of my hand
but the marks were in code, and i could not read it

riding on roads wide as the prairies
with a match in my pocket, and a pipe, and a pearl
living on bread, apples, and whiskey
and the dream of the day i could come back to the world

homeless and hopeless, listless and lost
i met a ten-year-old girl in a blue and white dress.
i showed her the map. i asked for her thoughts.
she said, “i can’t forgive sins that you haven’t confessed.”

i looked in her eyes; i saw what she meant
and thought back to the man from the fishing port town
the words he had chosen were no accident
and i laughed like the stars when the sun’s going down

i turned to the girl and said, “thanks for your help.”
the rain came like war being waged from above
i had to get lost just to find myself
now i’m headed home and won’t stop till i’ve found my love

riding on roads wide as the prairies
with a match in my pocket, and a pipe, and a pearl
i’ve been living on bread, apples, and whiskey
but today is the day i come back to the world
today is the day i come back to the world
today is the day i come back to the world