Desperation Road - Michael Martin Murphey

Driving West out on I-40

On my way to taste some California wine

A broke down family flagged me down

Near the Arizona line

Their whole world was in a pickup

I guess it couldn’t pull the load

It was just our vacation

But to them it was desperation road

The lines on their faces

Told the story of the places that they’d been

Now their home is a highway

That never seems to end

Empty dreams and empty pockets

Sure can make a heavy load

To some of us it’s just a highway

But to others it’s desperation road

Their eyes had a sadness

From another place in time

A silent reminder that the grapes of wrath

Still make bitter wine

And it sure makes you wonder

'Bout all the seeds our country sows

Which of us will be the next

To travel down desperation road

I helped them start their pickup

And watched them as they faded out of sight

Guess the last thing I remember

Is the faces of the children in my lights

That night in a motel room

I have a dream that made my blood run cold

I saw my own wife and family

Standing out on desperation road

And their eyes had a sadness

From another place in time

A silent reminder that the grapes of wrath

Still make bitter wine

And it sure makes you wonder

'Bout all the seeds our country sows

Which of us will be the next

To travel down desperation road

Could be your own wife and family

Standing out on desperation road