I pick up my life
And take it with me
And I put it down in
Chicago, Detroit
Buffalo, Scranton
Any place that is
North and East-
And not Dixie

I pick up my life
And take it on the train
To Los Angeles, Bakersfield.
Seattle, Oakland, Salk Lake.

Any place that is
North and West-
And not South.

I am fed up
With Jim Crow laws,
People who are cruel
And afraid.
Who lynch and run,
Who are scared of me
And me of them
I pick up my life
And take it away
On a one-way ticket-
Gone up North,
Gone out West,
Gone!