I'm headed down south to the land of the pine
Thumbing my way into North Carolina
I'm staring at the road and pray to God I see it last
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Picking me a bouquet of downwood flowers
And I'm hoping for Raleigh, I'll see my baby tonight
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Yeah, mama rock me
Well, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a southbound train
Yeah, mama rock me
Mama rock me, yeah


Running from the cold up in New England
I was born to be a fiddler in an old time string band
My baby plays the guitar, I pick a banjo now
Oh, the North country winters keep getting me down
Lost my money playing poker so I had to leave town
But I ain't turning back to living that old life no more
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Yeah, mama rock me
Well, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a southbound train
Yeah, mama rock me


Walking to the south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly had a Nashville talk
But he's a-heading west from the Cumberland Gap
To Johnston City, Tennessee
I gotta get a move on before the sun
I hear my baby calling my name and I know she's the only one
And if I die in Raleigh, at least I will die free
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Yeah, mama rock me
Well, rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a southbound train
Yeah, mama rock me