Modern interstates are just fine,
If you need to get somewhere fast;
But give me the old U.S. routes,
For a better look at our past.

All along old U.S. Route 3,
You'll find the old fashioned diner;
Hand pressed burgers, fresh cut home fries,
Can't think of a food that's finer.

A few more miles down that old route,
You may find an old time railroad;
Coaches from the roaring twenties,
Engines that burn a black coal load.

And there's the old U.S. Route 1,
It follows the coast down from Maine;
I've driven that route many times,
Done what you can't do from a plane.

Let's not forget that famous route,
The one they call Route 66;
I took that road eight years ago,
It certainly gave me my kicks!

Steinbeck called it the "Mother Road,"
Known too as the "Highway of Dreams;"
Connects Chicago to L.A.
Both appropriate names it seems.

Cities and towns boomed on these routes,
Then along came the Interstate;
Great little towns died off quickly,
Others dealt with the hands of fate.

I'll take the old routes any old day,
As I travel to any old place;
Interstates have nothing to offer,
I'll take life at a liesurely pace.