Headed down south to the land of the pines And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road And pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh I can see my baby tonight
* So rock me mama like a wagon wheel Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey, mama rock me Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train Hey, mama rock me
Runnin' from the cold up in New England I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time stringband
My baby plays the guitar I pick a banjo now
Oh, the North country winters keep a gettin' me now
Lost my money playin' poker so I had to up and leave
But I ain't a turnin' back To livin' that old life no more
Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke I caught a trucker out of Philly
Had a nice long toke But he's a headed west from the Cumberland Gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee And I gotta get a move on before the sun
I hear my baby callin' my name And I know that she's the only one
And if I die in Raleigh At least I will die free