Well I didn't see much future
When I left the Christian brothers' school
So I waved it goodbye with a wistful smile
And I left the girls of Tuam
Sometimes when I'm reminiscing
I see the prefabs and my old friends
And I know that they'll be changed or gone
By the time I get home again

And I wish I was on the n17
Yes I wish I was on the n17
Travelling with just my thoughts and dreams

Well the ould fella left me to Shannon
Was the last time I travelled that road
And as we turned left at Claregalway
I could feel a lump in my throat
As I pictured the thousands of times
That I traveled that well worn track
And I know that things will be different
If I ever decide to go back

And I wish I was on the n17
Yes I wish I was on the n17
Travelling with just my thoughts and dreams

And now as I tumble down highways
Or on filthy overcrowded trains
There's no one to talk to in transit
So I sit there and daydream in vain
Behind all those muddled up problems
Of living on a foreign soil
I can still see the twists and the turns on the road
From the square to the town of the tribes

And I wish I was on the n17
Stone walls and the grass is green
I wish I was on the n17
Stone walls and the grass is green
Travelling with just my thoughts and dreams