Swamps of Georgia Songtext
von Jonah Smith

Well, I laid my head down in Georgia
I was looking for a place to rest
Couldn′t find nowhere 'sides a coffee house roof
That I found by scaling a fence
And I slept like a man in plush hotel
But my rest was still brief
For I was woken by my friend and traveling partner
He had found us a place to sleep
And we jumped down the fence in no time flat
And I felt the first drops of rain in my hair
And the pack on my back was weighing me down
As we made our way to an awaiting car

I know the open road
Will help to change your mind
Help you to unwind
If you open your heart you′ll see
What you're meant to be


Where there was two there now was four
Plus, the beautiful woman that let us
Sleep on her floor
And the sense of adventure that had kept me awake
Was fading now
That there was something real at stake
You see these young girls
That we paired off with in Charleston
Danced through the streets
Together they were on the run
It was only the day before that young Ashley and I
Hitch-hiked through the swamps of Georgia
In the sun getting high
And the meeting point with our friends on the way
Had gone awry
So we pushed on to Atlanta
Under the hot Georgia sky

I know the open road
Will help to change your mind
Help you to unwind
If you open your heart you'll see
What you′re meant to be

We found our friends, only took us awhile
In a place called Little Five Points
That was about five miles
From a place called Big Five Points
Where the trucker dropped us off
With his toothless grin-smile
And some lady on the corner holding a sign
Told me that Jesus wants me to
Cut my hair off and put a shirt on
Well I thanked her for the advice
All the same and said
You know my curls point towards the sky
Don′t it make you stop and wonder why?


I know the open road
Will help to change your mind
Help you to unwind
If you open your heart you'll see
What you′re meant to be

That night I spent
Squatting with the squatters
Spitting in the gutters
Listening to a bar band across the street
Play a bad version of "Let's Go Get Stoned"
And suddenly, I get this idea...
So I run down the alleyway with Ashley
And we drink ourselves
Two big bottles of cough syrup
And I know it wasn′t the brightest idea
But things started moving real slow

And the colors of the night
Move around in the periphery of my vision
As I look at the squatters with no place to go
I say to myself, you know it's time to go home
So I say it out loud
And start running through the streets
Of Little Five Points
Looking for a ride to the Greyhound

But it was the beautiful fifth that found it for me
With the snap of her fingers
To a local boy who lingered
Hoping maybe he could cash in on a favor
A little later
Next thing you know
I′m in a seventy-three convertible El Dorado
Cruisin' through the streets of downtown Atlanta
He's swerving and ducking, screeching and halting
He′s got a crazy look in his eyes
I′m kind of happy when I say goodbye

Now I'm on a twenty-four hour bus trip
Tripping my face off
And I tell you
Sleep would not come no
Sleep would not come no
Sleep would not come
I guess in the back of my head
I was planting a seed for this song... it goes...

I know the open road
Will help to change your mind
Help you to unwind
If you open your heart you′ll see
What you're meant to be

I know the open road
Will help to change your mind
Help you to unwind
If you open your heart you′ll see
What you're meant to be

I know the open road
Will help to change your mind
Help you to unwind
If you open your heart you′ll see
What you're meant to be