Scott Miller - The Only Road lyrics

Jim Offat was the kind of man Who would not let you down They said he was a steady boy But he kept a bottle round He got the call like everyone in 1942: A navy bunk, mechanics pay and guaranteed hot food The only road He'd ever known The only road Was gravel, clay and cotton bolls Was gravel, clay and cotton bolls Elizabeth that sweet young thing Was born with a broken heart She talked of it but you could tell She never traveled far She wrote poor Jimmy everyday And in the window hung a star And read the paper for his name And always crossed her heart The only road Whe'd ever known The only road Was gravel, clay and cotton bolls Was gravel, clay and cotton bolls The Leyte Gulf in '44 Was no place for a boy Raised on muddy water Where you could always see the shore The jap torpedo came by surprise And hit the engine room The boys down there just held their breaths And prayed that someone knew The only road They'd ever known The only road Was gravel, clay and cotton bolls That night Elizabeth lay down to sleep And could not catch her breath She dreamed she saw poor Jimmy's face Wide-eyed and scared to d**h She reached a hand out in the dark As he took his last gasp And together and forever They'll be walking hand in hand The only road They'd ever know The only road Was gravel, clay and cotton bolls