I'm leaving Santa Rosa for them Tucson nights
Think I'll get up to Carson City
See them big bright blinking lights
Adios old Nevada
Far west for the golden state
I've got my suits together and I'm almost to L.A.
If the way I'm living seems like such a mess
Believe me I would choose this life over the rest
I left that angel city for the Frisco Bay
That town it was hard on me
I had to get away
Walking with my guitar down Divisadero street
The people give me money
For the way I play and sing
If the way I'm living seems like such a mess
Believe me I would choose this life over the rest
If the way I'm living seems like just a mess
Believe me I would choose this life over the rest
You know I really like it in this 49er town
But I've got to step on over
To that redwood highway now
Mendocino county brings me lots of joy
It's opened up the eyes of this wandering Texas boy And if the way I'm living seems like just a mess
Believe me I would choose this live over the rest
Oh, believe me I would choose this life before the rest