[Verse 1] Leave the ticking clocks behind you, Drop your name at the city gate, Take the lane that twists and rambles, Where the wild winds set the pace. Boots worn thin upon your soles now, Pack as light as morning dew, No fixed mile, no promised shelter— Just the road and what it shows to you. [Chorus] Oh, aren't these the old ways of Stravaig-ing? Isn't this where my true self lies? Open to the world’s soft whispering, Alive in every joy and strife. The prize is never the arriving, It’s the wonder as you stray, Turn aside from the straight and certain, Find your heart along the way. [Verse 2] Kindle flames beneath the starlight, Bed down soft on the earth’s own floor, Bathe in rivers at the sunrise, Welcome rain that comes to pour. Dry your shirt by the fire’s breathing, Sing your traveling songs out loud, Forage supper from the hedgerows, Share your smoke and stand unbowed. [Chorus] Oh, aren't these the old ways of Stravaig-ing? Isn't this where my true self lies? Open to the world’s soft whispering, Alive in every joy and strife. The lighter load, the clearer seeing, The less you spend, the more you gain, In the idle joy of roaming, Hidden doors swing wide again. [Verse 3] Pick your comrade with true care now, Or go solo through the wood, Keep a pocket full of scribbles, Verses caught where the wild things stood. No stiff maps to cage your spirit, Trespass where your fancy calls, Zigzag over hill and hollow, Let surprise build all your walls. [Bridge] Lie flat beside the running water, Or sit high on the grassy slope— A plain small door that looks like nothing Opens wide to every hope. The earth will teach you who you are now, And the journey you must claim; Stravaig-ing is the tongue of living— Few may speak it, but what a flame. [Chorus] Oh, aren't these the old ways of Stravaig-ing? Isn't this where my true self lies? Greet each fellow traveler kindly In the beauty and the strife. The lighter load, the clearer seeing, The slower road, the richer view— Oh, the fine art of Stravaig-ing, Calls the restless heart in you. [Outro] [Fade with hummed refrain, gentle acoustic strumming]
