Steve Earle, The Del McCoury Band - Leroy's Dustbowl Blues lyrics

Leroy was a farmer and an honest man
Would have lived in Oklahoma all his days
He just wanted left alone to
Work a piece of land
But a hard wind come and blew his dreams away
So he headed for the West Coast
Thought he could not lose
Rollin' down the highway with
The dustbowl blues

It's a thousand miles from
Broken Bow to Bakersfield
And the highway's paved with
Heartaches all the way
Leroy drove on, lookin' for a better deal
A place a man could settle down and stay
But the police at the state line
Beat him black and blue
Left him lying by the roadside
With the dustbowl blues
They say California is a paradise
Hollywood turns nighttime into day
But up along the San Joaquin
Those city lights might as well
Be a million miles away
When your kids are cold and
Hungry wearin' worn-out shoes
Standin' in the garden with
The dustbowl blues