The Ghost of Tom Joad

Men walkin' 'long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace and 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 order
Families sleepin' in their car in the southwest
No home, no job, no peace, no rest

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

He pulls a prayer book out of his sleeping bag
Preacher lights up a butt and he takes a drag
Waitin' for when the last shall be first, and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass

Got a one-way ticket to the promised land
You got a hole in your belly and gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathin' in the city aqueduct

The highway is alive tonight
Where it's headed, everybody knows
I'm sittin' down here in the campfire light
Waitin' on the ghost of Tom Joad

Now Tom said
"Mom, wherever there's a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the 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 a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes, momm you'll see me"

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