Steve Goodman - Turnpike Tom lyrics

First time I met old Turnpike Tom Sittin' in a diner in Bloomington He said "Are you going my way?" He had a sleeping bag and his hat was torn And both his thumbs were two feet long From years of hitchin' on the hi-way He said "Mister, won't you give me a ride I'm a wanted man lookin' for a place to hide" Oh, we finished the coffee and we got in the car We drove off and hadn't gone far When Tom began to tell me his sad story... He said "Long around 1942 Buddy, I robbed a bank in Kalamazoo Just to get enough money to marry my true darlin' But she died when she heard what I had done And ever since I've been on the run Standing on the hi-ways a callin' A callin' mister won't you give me a ride I'm a wanted man lookin' for a place to hide" Said "Now I'm gettin' old and ready to die Too tired to run and too sick to try And soon I'll be hitchin' upstairs in the skyway..." [spoken] Oh, play that again... He said "I can't pay you for the ride Just once before I die I'd like to do somebody a favor" And out of his pocket came a rusty old key Along with a map and he give 'em to me And said "Here's an end to all your labor" "Way down in Greensboro, Tennessee In the back of Rusty's Roadside Cabaret There's 20,000 in unmarked green The money I stole that's in the machine That hangs on the wall in Rusty's Roadside men's room" So, three nights later at Rusty's door I had a beer and then I had one more Then I headed for the treasure Just like old Turnpike Tom had said The machine was under a sign which read Sanitary 3-for-a-quarter So I took out the key and I broke the lock There to my bewilderment and shock I found a sign which read "You've just been had In a sanitary way by Turnpike Tom The outlaw with the fastest sense of humor" And if you meet someone with a troubled mind Well, just give him the key and feed him the line And tell him his days will soon be better Yes, and mister, you've been taken for a ride There ain't nothin' but fools gold here inside Oh, the real gold, that's inside us all Remember that you only fall for Lies and stories when you really want to