Far Side of the World

Ramadan is over, the new moon's showin' 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
Up and down that Spanish highway, some things remain the same
Girls meet boys and the boys tease girls
I'm headin' out this morning for the far side of the world

Oh, I believe in song lines, obvious and not
I'd 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-Exupéry
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 lightning bolts burns a lasting memory
And a string of tiny twinkling lights adorn the sausage tree
While the embers from the log fire, they 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 Maasai, 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
I 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