Ramadan is over
The new moon's shown her face
I'm halfway round the planet
In a most unlikely place
Following my song line
Past bamboo shacks and shops
Behind a jitney
Packed like sardines
With bananas piled on top
I ran away from politics
It's too bizarre at home
Away I flew tuned into Blue
Maybe Amsterdam or Rome
Awakened by a stewardess
With Spain somewhere below
On the threshold of adventure
God I do love this job so
So while I make my move
On the big board game
Down that Spanish highway
Some things remain the same
Girls meet boys
And the boys tease girls
I'm heading out this morning
For the
Far Side of the World
Oh I believe in song lines
Obvious and not
I've ridden them like camels
To some most peculiar spots
They run across the oceans
Through mountains and saloons
And tonight out to the desert
Where I sit atop this dune
I was destined
For this vantage point
Though it's so far from the Sea
I've lived it in the pages
Of Saint Exuperty
From Paris to Tunisia
Casablanca to Dakar
I was riding long before I flew
Through the wind
And sand and stars
Caravan
Ride that hump
And Timbuktu's a jillion bumps
Sleeping bags and battle flags
Are coiled and furled
That's the way you travel
To the
Far side of the World
A sunset framed
By lightening bolts
Burns a lasting memory
And a string
Of tiny twinkling lights
Adorn the sausage tree
While the embers
From the log fire
Flicker fly and twirl
Then drift off toward the cosmos
From the
Far Side of the World
Now it's Christmas
And my birthday
And so to that extent
The Masai not the wise men
Are circling my tent
I teach them how to play guitar
They show me how to dance
We have rum from the Caribbean
And Burgundy from France
New Year's Eve in Zanzibar
With Babu and his boys
High up on the rooftop
You can relish all the noise
They are dancing on the tables
People bouncing like gazelles
2-0-0-1 is ushered in
With air raid horns and bells
Time to sing
Time to dance
Living out my second chance
Cobras and sleeping bags
Are coiled and curled
That's the way it happens
On the
Far Side of the World
Back at home it's afternoon
Six thousand miles away
It will still be there
When I get through
Attending this soiree
There are jobs and chores
And questions
And plates I need to twirl
But tonight I'll take my chances
On the Far Side of the World
Yes that's the way it happens
On the Far Side of the World