"Ohio"—Crooked Timber

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Ohio

(Music and lyrics by Scott Ryan)

Look out, mama, 'cause this boy's coming home
So turn down the bed and set another place at the table.
The world's been too much with me and I need somewhere to fly,
And I'd like to come on back to you for a little while before I die,
So I'm trying to save the plane fare to Ohio.

Well, life rolls by in a tireless flow
Of cigarettes, booze, and the people I know,
And sometimes I'm just killing time
Till the day I'll have to die. Oh—
I'm shaking my head, brushing dust from my knees,
While I'm breaking my bread with the Pharisees
And trying to save the plane fare to Ohio.

          And the circles in the sky
          Will come and claim me by and by,
          And time in flight won't stop to tell my why. Oh—
          Dusky dusk to dusty dawn
          Feel the wheels go rumbling on
          While I'm trying to save the plane fare to Ohio.

Well, the money doesn't come quite as fast as it goes
And I change my mind as though I'm changing my clothes
And it used to be I was the only man
On whom I could rely. Oh—
I'm upside down and inside out
And the only time I know what I'm talking about's
When I'm talking about the plane fare to Ohio.

          With my body and my soul half drowned
          In that sweet Long Island Sound
          Where the grey waves go rolling out for miles, oh—
          If my body gets there whole
          I don't much care if I save my soul;
          I'm just trying to save the plane fare to Ohio.

'Cause I don't give a damn for the place I am
And it's good to come from somewhere else.
And maybe I'm not as confused as I thought
If I still know white from black.
And it's good to know there's a place to go
Where I can low and collect myself,
Even though I may never go back.

Well, mama, I know that it's getting late,
And I guess perhaps I exaggerate,
But mama, you know that it's not as though
I've never told a lie. Oh—
And maybe we ought to be hanging up soon,
But I'll write you a letter, maybe write you a tune,
While I'm trying to save the plane fare to Ohio.

Well, never mind, mama—I just called to say hello,
And to hear you say that I still had a place at your table.
I think I've got my wind again and I guess I'll say goodbye;
I don't know when I can call again, so I'll just say that I'll try—oh,
Until I save the plane fare to Ohio;
Until I save the plane fare to Ohio.