I came to the great big city
I was only seventeen
Got me a job in a big skyscraper
Keepin' the restrooms clean
And I meant to save all my money
And bring you east someday
But the neon lights burned holes in my pockets
And the money just slipped away

My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Back where I started
And poorer than the day I went away
My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Just to tell you that
You wouldn't like to live
In New York City anyway

You wrote me long love letters
And I read them through and through
The concrete seemed a little bit warmer
Just knowin' your love was true
But still I got so lonely
Sittin' in my room at night
That I had to go out just any place
As long as the lights were bright
My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Back where I started
And poorer than the day I went away
My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Just to tell you that
You wouldn't like to live
In New York City anyway

I went to the bar on the corner
Thought I'd have just one beer
"How bout one for me. Hon?"
A voice whispered in my ear
I had not heard a friendly word
For seven months or more
So I had to defend my lady friend
When somebody called her a whore

"Well, what do you know, he's a farmer"
That dirty bastard laughed
I said "I'll show you how a farmer fights"
But I was a little too smashed
We all went out to the alley
But I woke up alone
With an empty wallet, achin' head
And nowhere to go but home
My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Back where I started
And poorer than the day I went away
My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Just to tell you that
You wouldn't like to live
In New York City anyway

My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Back where I started
And poorer than the day I went away
My sweet Johanna
I'm hitchin' a ride back to Indiana
Just to tell you that
You wouldn't like to live
In New York City anyway