[Verse 1] Man walks along the railroad track He's goin' some place and there's no turnin' back The Highway Patrol chopper comin' up over the ridge Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge The shelter line stretchin' around the corner Welcome to the New World Order Families sleepin' in their cars out in the Southwest No job, no home, no peace, no rest, no rest
[Chorus] And the highway is alive tonight Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes I'm sitting down here in a campfire light Searchin' for the ghost of Tom Joad
[Verse 2] He pulls his prayer book out of a sleepin' bag The preacher lights up a bud and takes a drag He's waitin' for the time when the "last shall be first, and the first shall be last" In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass With a one-way ticket to the promised land With a hole in your belly and a gun in your hand Lookin' for a pillow of solid rock Bathin' in the city's aqueducts
[Chorus] And the highway is alive tonight Nobody's foolin' nobody as to where it goes I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light With the ghost of old Tom Joad