G                                                           C  
Them Texas fields were hot and that tractor never was my kind of living 
    A7                                                      D  
And when I hit sixteen, I had my size and I hit the road to freedom 
        Dm                            G                                 C  
And I'm glad I wasn't there to see my momma cause she must've cried for hours 
        G                              D                            G 
I still hear her saying Gary, get your guitar and pick The Wildwood Flower 
 
Now Dallas it was big and hard to find a job and so I didn't 

It was easier to hitch a ride to Houston and it was more like living 

Now I've been down every road and I've stood on every porch where they were giving 

And if they had an hour or a dime, I would pick The Wildwood Flower 
 
It's hard to turn around and look back down the roads that I have travelled 

Cause like a neverending ball of twine, my dreams have come unravelled 

And now as evening lays its shawl across the shoulders of my life I have defined 

I couldn't tie my life together with the guitar strings and a poet's heart full of pride 
 

        Dm                            G                                 C  
And I'm glad I wasn't there to see my momma cause she must've cried for hours 
        G                              D                            G 
I still hear her saying Gary, get your guitar and pick The Wildwood Flower