Noel Paul Stookey John Henry Bosworth
John Henry Bosworth, late in 'sixty-eight
Decided that the time had come to settle his estate
The riots of the summer were creeping into fall
So he packed his family in the car
And chose to leave it all
Out on the open road with his elbow in the breeze
He pulled his woman to him
And he gave her heart a squeeze
With a song that he'd been singing
And they waved to the people that they passed
All along the highway they went winging
Headed for their paradise at last
John Henry Bosworth's family on the farm
Elizabeth is sitting knitting from a ball of yarn
Koolaid's in the kitchen, Button's up in her bed
And John he takes a long pull on his pipe
And lays his head back in the easy chair
With the Good Book in his hand
He close his eyes and thank the Lord
for making him a lucky man
With a song that he'd been singing
And they waved to the people that they passed
All along the highway they were winging
Headed for their paradise at last
John Henry Bosworth, 1984
The sky is red, the city's dead
And there's a knock upon the door
Every piece of Scripture, every prayer he prayed
Had brought him to this moment
Of this particular day
"Open the doors" he cried,
"Let the brothers and the sisters inside
I got everything to give now and nothing left to hide".
With a song that he'd been singing
And they waved to the people that they passed
All along the highway they'd been winging
Headed for their paradise at last
And I was wondering if you had been to the mountain
To look at the valley below?
Did you see all the roads tangled down in the valley?
Did you know which way to go?
Oh the mountain stream runs pure and clear
And I wish to my soul I could always be here
But there's a reason for living way down in the valley
That only the mountain knows
