Lyrics Too Long in the Wasteland (Live: Cactus Cafe, Austin TX 1991) - James McMurtry

Hear the trucks on the highway
And the ticking of the clock
There's a ghost of a moon in the afternoon
Bullet holes in the mailbox
Bullet holes in the mailbox
Key holes in my mind

Too long in the wasteland
Too long in the wasteland
I've fallen behind

She said why don't you come see me
When the sun goes down
It'll be just like the old days
When I used to let you hang around
Well I don't know
I might not speak the language anymore

Too long in the wasteland
Too long in the wasteland
Will close some doors

The people in the village
Watch their children play
At the sight of a stranger
They call the kids away
Just leave that man alone
I hear the mother say

He's been
Too long in the wasteland
Too long in the wasteland
'S what made him that way

Well, I hadn't intended
To bend the rules
But whiskey don't make liars
It just makes fools
So I didn't mean to say it
But I meant what I said

Too long in the wasteland
Too long in the wasteland
Must've gone to my head

Jet trail in the sunset
A long way away
Cutting 'cross the horizon
At the edge of the day
And it calls Jimmy
Come fly away

But I've been
Too long in the wasteland
Too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay

Yeah, I've been
Too long in the wasteland
Too long in the wasteland
I believe I'll have to stay