Well, I left my home out on the Great High Plains   Headed for some new terrain   Standin' on the highway with my coffee cup   A wonderin' who was gonna pick me up      I had my hopes up high, I never thought   That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye   I had my hopes up high      Well, the first ride I got was in a dynamite truck   The driver kept tellin' me his bad luck   As we swerved around the curves, I began to shout   I said, "Hey mister would you let me out?"      I had my hopes up high, I never thought   That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye   I had my hopes up high      And the next ride I got was with a man in trouble   The beard on his face was all in a stubble   Runnin' from the law he was goin' ninety-nine   I said, "Hey mister, you're out of your mind"      I had my hopes up high, I never thought   That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye   I had my hopes up high      And the next ride I got was with a preacher man   Told me that the wicked would be buried in sand   I don't know why I did it but I lost control   I said, "Ho Papa, would you save my soul?"      I had my hopes up high, I never thought   That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye   I had my hopes up high      And I finally got a ride on a carnival train   Nearly blew away in a hurricane   I got to thinkin' bout that preacher down in Louisianne   Now I'm sittin' on the Delta Siftin' sand      I had my hopes up high, I never thought   That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye   I had my hopes up high      I never thought   That I would ever wonder why I ever said goodbye   I had my hopes up high