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Talkin' Hitchhiker

from Eleven Coming Back by Rob Getzschman

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Written March 1998

lyrics

Tryin' to travel nowadays
You just can't do it Kerouac's way
There's a million miles of new turnpike
But the highway's closed to the old hitchhiker
You gotta head for the airport
Hear the call of the wild come over the PA:
"Final boarding"

To be on the road, you gotta be in the sky
Don't walk or drive, that's a waste of time
Hear my advice, you wanna take a trip
Stick out your thumb on the landing strip
But show up an hour early
And you gotta have a ticket
And you can't make jokes about bombs or guns, or Osama bin Laden
They take that seriously

Pick a city they'll get you there
It's not half the time, if you go by air
It's heaven on earth with your head in the clouds
Nice and quiet, not a soul around
Except the other passengers
And the air flight attendents, and the pilots
And geese

You've gotta savor the flavor of American flight
And thank the Lord for the brothers Wright
It's the way to go, you don't have to ask
I just hope you don't need the oxygen mask
Or the seat that acts as a floatation device
Or a parachute

I'd have to say you must be lyin'
If you were to say you don't like flyin'
You'd trade your pilot's wings and a good jetlag
For old 'Lonesome higway' rag?

You wanna see the cities up close
And take each state in a heavy dose
You wanna meet the people and know they're real
Then go use your antique automobile

Go taste the flowers of the midwest plains
The New York chill and Seattle rains
Go see the sun set over the western sea
I'll take it all from thirty thousand feet
Where we got stewardesses
And an in-flight movie
Peanuts
Plane food
Little seats, little aisles, little windows
Ah, somebody get me a highway and and a Volkswagon
And I'll be a happy man
I'll see you in California

credits

from Eleven Coming Back, released June 12, 2001

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all rights reserved

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Rob Getzschman Los Angeles, California

Rob Getzschman is a singer-songwriter and producer from Omaha living in Los Angeles. He was previously front man for DC-based Analog Jetpack, played bass for LA's Highland Hawks and writes and produces music for Mighty Good Road. www.mightygoodroad.com

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