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