D5
First time I met old Turnpike Tom
Sittin' in a diner in Bloomington
G5                               D5
He said "Are you going my way?"
He had a sleeping bag and his hat was torn
And both his thumbs were two feet long
From years of hitchin' on the hi-way
F5       E5             A5
He said "Mister, won't you give me a ride
F5       E5             A5     A5
I'm a wanted man lookin' for a place to hide"
D5
Oh, we finished the coffee and we got in the car
We drove off and hadn't gone far
G5                                       D5
When Tom began to tell me his sad story...
He said "Long around 1942
Buddy, I robbed a bank in Kalamazoo
Just to get enough money to marry my true darlin'
But she died when she heard what I had done
And ever since I've been on the run
Standing on the hi-ways a callin'
F5       E5             A5
A callin' mister won't you give me a ride
F5       E5             A5                             A5
I'm a wanted man lookin' for a place to hide"
D5
Said "Now I'm gettin' old and ready to die
Too tired to run and too sick to try
G5                                       D5
And soon I'll be hitchin' upstairs in the skyway..."

[spoken]
Oh, play that again...

D5
He said "I can't pay you for the ride
Just once before I die
G5                               D5
I'd like to do somebody a favor"
And out of his pocket came a rusty old key
Along with a map and he give 'em to me
And said "Here's an end to all your labor"
F5               E5             A5
"Way down in Greensboro, Tennessee
F5               E5             A5             A5
In the back of Rusty's Roadside Cabaret
D5
There's 20,000 in unmarked green
The money I stole that's in the machine
G5                                               D5
That hangs on the wall in Rusty's Roadside men's room"

So, three nights later at Rusty's door
I had a beer and then I had one more
Then I headed for the treasure
Just like old Turnpike Tom had said
The machine was under a sign which read
Sanitary 3-for-a-quarter
F5               E5             A5
So I took out the key and I broke the lock
F5               E5             A5             A5
There to my bewilderment and shock
D5
I found a sign which read "You've just been had
In a sanitary way by Turnpike Tom
G5                               D5
The outlaw with the fastest sense of humor"
And if you meet someone with a troubled mind
Well, just give him the key and feed him the line
And tell him his days will soon be better
F5               E5             A5     
Yes, and mister, you've been taken for a ride
F5               E5             A5                     A5
There ain't nothin' but fools gold here inside
D5
Oh, the real gold, that's inside us all
Remember that you only fall for
G5                               D5
Lies and stories when you really want to
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