As some of you know, my “theme song” for the last year and a half (as I’ve been on this crazy journey to Africa) has been the chorus to “Free Falling” by Tom Petty.  You remember (and don’t pretend you don’t know): And I’m free, free fallin’ Yeah I’m free, free fallin’.  Well, I’m not turning that one in but after reading about my adventures on the road a friend sent me these slightly rewritten words to Bob Seger’s song “Turn The Page”.  They capture the feeling of the moment pretty well. 🙂

On a long and lonesome {dirt road}
East of {Kampala}
You can listen to the engine
Moanin’ out his one note song
You can think about {no water}
Or the {strange bed} the night before
But your thoughts will soon be wandering
The way they always do
When you’re ridin’ sixteen hours
And there’s nothin’ much to do
And you don’t feel much like ridin’,
You just wish the trip was through

Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page

Well you walk into a restaurant,
Strung out from the road
And you feel the eyes upon you
As you’re shakin’ off the {dust}
You pretend it doesn’t bother you
But you just want {some food}

Most times you can’t {understand them},
Other times you can
All the same old cliches,
{Where did that muzunga come from?}
And you always seem outnumbered,
You don’t dare make a stand

Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page

Out there in the spotlight
You’re a million miles away
Every ounce of energy
You try to give away
As the sweat pours out your body
{in that enclosed church with a metal roof}

Later in the evening
As you lie awake in bed
With the echoes from the amplifiers
Ringin’ in your head (I didn’t have to rewrite that part)
You {wish you could smoke a cigar}
{not} Rememberin’ what {you} said

Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page
Here I am
On the road again
There I am
Up on the stage
Here I go
Playin’ star again
There I go
Turn the page
There I go
There I go

For those of you who want to relive your youth, you can listen to them on youtube.
Turn The Page
Free Fallin’