Home Again

I've been away for a month or more,

I've visited isles and ocean shore;

I've walked down blazing avenues,

With any diversion one could choose;

I've traveled ten thousand miles

On winding road or straightaway,

From the Golden Gate to the Capitol Dome --

Oh, it's nice to go on a vactaion,

but it's nicer to get back home!

My own back yard and the friendly fir

Look good to me -- and I'll tell you, sir,

Its shade is sweeter than far retreat

Of the scenic place where tourists meet

To write brave notes to Fred and Sue

To wish they were there -- instead of you,

In the torrid South or in frigid Nome --

Oh, it's nice to go on a vacation,

But it's nicer to get back home!

And the folks back here, they suit me swell,

They call my name and they wish me well.

And the things we have we love to share,

But it isn't the same at all out there,

where strangers meet at a small cafe,

To stare at each other, with nothing to say;

Where you long for a bath and a brush and a comb --

Oh, it's nice to go on a vacation,

But it's nicer to get back home!

Yes, I went to the zoo, and all of that;

But I'd rather sit home and pet the cat

Than to blister my feet in quest of thrill.

Ah, this is the life -- and I sit here still

to dream of my travel and contemplate

That the joys of the highway are second-rate,

For all roads lead back like they lead to Rome --

Oh, it's nice to go on a vacation,

But it's nicer to get back home!

(Copyright, 1940)