Man walks along the railroad track
And he's going some place, there's no going back
The highway patrol chopper coming up over the ridge
Man sleeps by a campfire under the bridge
The shelter line stretching around the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleeping in their cars in the southwest
No home, no job, no peace, no rest

And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's fooling nobody is to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
Searching for the ghost of tom joad

He pulls his prayer book out of a sleeping bag
The preacher lights up a butt and takes a drag
He's waiting for the time
When the last shall be first and the first shall be last
In a cardboard box 'neath the underpass
He's gotta one way ticket to the promised land
He's gotta hole in your belly and a gun in your hand
Sleeping on a pillow of solid rock
Bathing in the cities' aqueducts

And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's fooling nobody is to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of old tom joad

Now tom said; "ma, whenever ya see a cop beating a guy
Wherever a hungry new born baby cries
Wherever there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me ma' I'll be there
Wherever somebody is looking for a place to stand
For a decent job or a helping hand
Wherever somebody is struggling to be free
Look in their eyes ma, you'll see me! "

And the highway is alive tonight
Nobody's fooling nobody is to where it goes
I'm sitting down here in the campfire light
With the ghost of tom joad