I put away fifteen grand doing one-night stands
mostly liquor stores and fillin' stations
Me and this peepin' Tom by the name of J.D. Swan

and any number of his odd blood relations
This was armed robbery 1957
and mostly our getaways were clean

Then I'd pay off the boys
and bury my bread out on Highway 17


I had five kids and a wife with one dress
and a yard full of cars that wouldn't running
My two oldest boys they were on to my noise

they despised what their daddy done
But I did my thing the best I could
making plans by the light of day

And then night would fall and it was time to call
and I was always on my way


Now J.D. he was crazy and he was inbred
he drank whiskey like it was goin' out of style
You know I should have seen it coming the writing was on the wall

he was getting just a little too loose and wild
And he made his mistake out on Airline Drive,
you know those North Houston cops are quick

They blew a hole in J.D. the size of Dallas
and put a lump on my head with the brunt of a nightstick


You know 5-10 in Huntsville ain't no good times boys
but I walked that line do you know what I mean
'Cause my mind was snug on that hole I dug out on Highway 17

I said my mind was snug on that hole I dug out on Highway 17

So I served my time only way I knew how

thinking big and making plans
All about the way I was gonna change the world
when I get my hands on that 15 grand

You know C.W. and Herschel my two oldest boys
they took care of their momma and their little sisters
the best way that they could

Dealing dimes and stealing hubcaps
you know pretty soon they were doing good
So I walked out those prison gates a free man

on the first day of November 19 and '63
I kissed my wife and I hugged my babies
but they didn't seem the same to me


You know the boys looked on they were already grown
it was written across their eyes and their faces

I'm the perfect sample of a bad example
gone forever from their graces
But baby six long years and a lot can change

many miles beyond your wildest dreams
But a six-lane wide modern interstate ride out on Highway 17
Lord they sunk my ship 'neath a concrete strip out on Highway 17

Man they broke my back they built a concrete track out on Highway 17
Well, you know it ain't funny but they buried my money out on Highway 17