Highway 17

Lyrics for Highway 17

I put away 15 grand doing one-night stands Mostly liquor stores and fillin' stations Me and this peepin' Tom by the name of J.D. Swan And any number of his odd blood relations This was armed robbery 1957 and mostly our getaways were clean Then I'd pay off the boys and bury my bread out on Highway 17 I had five kids and a wife with one dress And a yard full of cars that wouldn't run My two oldest boys they were on to my noise They despised what their daddy done But I did my thing the best I could, making plans by the light of day And then night would fall and it was time to call, and I was always on my way Now J.D. he was crazy and he was inbred And he drank whiskey like it was goin' out of style You know I should have seen it coming, the writing was on the wall He was getting just a little too loose and wild And he made his mistake out on Airline Drive You know those North Houston cops are quick They blew a hole in J.D. the size of Dallas And put a lump on my head with the brunt of a nightstick You know that five to ten in Huntsville ain't no good times boys But I walked that line, do you know what I mean? 'Cause my mind was snug on that hole I dug out on Highway 17 I said my mind was snug on that hole I dug out on Highway 17 So I served my time only way I knew how, thinking big and making plans All about the way I was gonna change the world when I get my hands on that 15 grand You know C.W. and Herschel my two oldest boys they took care of their momma And their little sisters the best way that they could Dealing dimes and stealing hubcaps, you know pretty soon they were doing good So I walked out those prison gates a free man on the first day of November 19 in '63 I kissed my wife and I hugged my babies But they didn't seem the same to me You know the boys looked on, they were already grown It was written across their eyes and their faces I'm the perfect sample of a bad example gone forever from their graces But baby, six long years and a lot can change Many miles beyond your wildest dreams But a six-lane wide modern interstate ride out on Highway 17 Lord, they sunk my ship 'neath a concrete strip out on Highway 17 Man, they broke my back they built a concrete track out on Highway 17 Well, you know it ain't funny, but they buried my money out on Highway 17