Nine miles of two-strand topped with barbed wire
Laid by the father for the son
Good shelter down there on the valley floor
Down by where the sweet stream runNow they might give me compensation
That's not what I'm chasing
I was a rich man before yesterday
Now all I have got is a cheque and a pickup truck
And I left my farm on the freewayThey're busy building airports on the south side
Silicon chip factory on the east
And the big road's pushing through along the valley floor
Hot machine pouring six lanes at the very leastNow, they say they gave me compensation
That's not what I'm chasing
I was a rich man before yesterday
Now all I have left is a broken-down pickup truck
Looks like my farm is a freewayThey forgot they told us what this old land was for
Grow two tons the acre, boy, between the stones
This was no South Fork, it was no Ponderosa
But it was the place that I called homeThey say they gave me compensation
Well, that's not what I'm chasing
I was a rich man before yesterday
And what do I want with a million dollars and a pickup truck
When I left my farm under the freeway?