I came to this city
to escape the landlocked enclosure
the Texas borders were strangling me
so I headed to California

To San Francisco I headed,
Down old route 66,
Headed to the sought after home of the great American immigrant

Away from Bougainvilla
And hot wet summer nights
toward High Sierra grandiosity
And California golden-poppy delights

Never meant to stay in Houston, no,
that city wouldn't hold,
I was headed for the runaway city,
San Francisco's it, I was told

West to California,
West to the history
Of people searching for the other ocean,
New shores on which to build America's prosperity

How could I know
the difficulty that would face me when I arrived
All I knew was it wasn't Texas,
And figured my opportunities would soon multiply

On to California I headed,
down old Route 66,
headed to the western land of the migrant,
with hope as my prefix

And money, I had none
I soon learned to live without
And when my newly rented home became unbearable,
I was forced to move on out

And when the next one was still worse
And all of my belongings were stolen,
still I stayed in California,
It would soon be golden

Soon enough my thought turned back to Texas,
And home, hearth, and family,
But now I met a wonderful man
to tie me to this land of non-tranquility!

And so what could I do but remain in this western city
of complete diversity,
the center of which I couldn't quite place,
The only way to describe San Francisco -- "macabre"
Purple, green, and blue young heads
bobbed around the town,
its only cohesion nonconformity,
as oddness surely did abound
This crazy San Francisco had me tired, wired and depressed,
I needed to get back to Texas and shake off my distress

But, my man would not come along, city slicker remained
So alone I move to Texas
where my simple spirit could roam freely.

To San Francisco, Californ-i-a I'd been headed
Down old Route 66,
Headed to the western land of the immigrant
with hope as my prefix

And now I have it all,
hot sun, dry dirt, and cactus tree
And I'd be a happy Texan
If I hadn't left my sweety in "the city"

Gained a state and lost a lover,
though one out of two ain't that bad
But now I must become a feminist
Because a man as good I'll never have