I had twenty-one miles of road to go And fifty-four miles of dirt There was a cold steel gleam In the night I was trucking along Down interstate five Looking for the turn When something snapped And I suddenly changed my mind I said bye bye bye Oh, I finally took a stand Then for the very first time I felt like a man So I headed on down to Mexico I was never going back to work Yes I had enough cash To last me there for years And then I cabled my folks I said call my boss And you can tell him Where I left the truck And then I went out and stocked up On enchiladas and beer I said bye bye bye Whoah I finally took a stand Then for the very first time in my life I felt like a man, like a man man man man Well now that all happened back in 1961 And I never went back to work And then in 1964 I started living Off the land And the people back home Still talk about me Just running off without a word But me and the beer And the Mexican sunshine We don't give a damn Whoah no no no I said bye bye bye Whoah I finally took a stand Now for the very first time I feel like a man, a free man