Ketchikan from Tania Opland by Tania Opland

Ketchikan
©1990 T. Opland

Willy caught a bus rollin' north from skid row;
Didn't really care where the bus was going to go.
Maybe if he rides just as far as he can
It'll bring him closer to Ketchikan.

He'd been working on the dockside all of the time.
He'd been living on the edge of the poverty line,
But with the work getting scarce, and the rent due again
Seemed he just couldn't make it in Ketchikan.

So he packed himself a bag and he went away,
Scarred and callused hands for his résumé.
He could for anyone who would need a strong man
And someday he'd return to Ketchikan.

No work, no work for an Indian here.
No friend when you're down but the man who serves the beer.
Same old story in a whole new land:
Maybe should have stayed back in Ketchikan.

Willy caught a bus rolling north from skid row.
Didn't really care where the bus was gonna go.
Maybe if he rides just as far as he can
It'll bring him closer to Ketchikan.

• Celtic
• Folk
• World
• hammered dulcimer
• hurdy gurdy
• medieval folk
• Suquamish