He Was Dead When I Got There

I was young when I left home an' I've been out a-ramblin' 'round
 An' I never wrote a letter to my home
 To my home, Lord, to my home
 An' I never wrote a letter to my home
 It was just the other day, I was bringin' home my pay
 When I met an' old friend I used to know
 Said, "Your mother is dead an' gone an' your sisters all gone wrong
 An' your daddy needs you home right away"
 Not a shirt on my back, not a penny on my name
 But I can't go home this a-way
 This a-way, Lord, Lord, Lord
 An' I can't go home this a-way
 If you miss the train I'm on, count the days I'm gone
 You will hear that whistle blow hundred miles
 Hundred miles, honey baby, Lord, Lord, Lord
 An' you'll hear that whistle blow hundred miles
 An' I'm playin' on a track, ma'd come an' woop me back
 On them trusses down by ol' Jim McKay's
 When I pay the debt I own to the commissary store
 I will pawn my watch an' chain an' go home
 Go home, Lord, Lord, Lord
 I will pawn my watch an' chain an' go home
 Used to tell my ma sometimes when I see them ridin' blind
 Gonna make me a home out in the wind
 In the wind, Lord in the wind
 Make me a home out in the wind
 I don't like it in the wind, wanna go back home again
 But I can't go home this a-way
 This a-way, Lord, Lord, Lord
 An' I can't go home this a-way
 I was young when I left home an' I've been out a-ramblin' 'round
 An' I never wrote a letter to my home
 To my home, Lord, Lord, Lord
 An' I never wrote a letter to my home