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.
And 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.

Chorus:
And I wish I was on that N 17
(Stone walls and the grasses green)
Yes I wish I was on that N 17
Stone walls and the grasses green
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 I turned left at Claregalway,
I could feel a lump in my throat.
As I pictured the thousands of times,
That I travelled that well worn track,
And I know that things would be different
If I ever decide to go back.

(Chorus)

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