I used to go down to the Mill Creek When I was only nine or ten I'd run trot lines in the muddy water I'd watch the leaves riding the wind It was there I smoked my first Marlboro It was there I kissed Laurie Jones I'd lie in the tall grass for hours I'd walk in the shallows, I'd skim those stones And one day I was climbing in the railroad trestle I heard the sound of a coming train Man it was on me like a rolling thunder Lit a fear inside I can't explain Sent me running, sent me screaming Like a wild man through the tall grass Trying to make it back home And it was then I ran into that stranger With his suitcase and his walking cane He put his hand on my little shoulder And since that day I ain't been the same He sends me running, sends me screaming Down a freeway, down a runway Trying to make it back home And here I stand in this darkened hallway My babies sleeping, dreaming soft and low I feel his hand on my shoulder Like that day down down by the Mill Creek long ago