Back To Montana (Honoring Al Olsen)

Unpublished

I’m tired of workin’
My back it’s a hurtin’
My bodies all bent out of shape
I’m tired of thinkin’
My head it’s an achin’
Wish my mind would go on the blink

If I could fly away
I’d blow all my troubles away
And go back to Montana
Throw a Houlihan
Go fishing in that Rocky Mountain stream
Gonna live out the life that I dream

I left Montana
Came to California
In the year of 1963
Nine years of digging
Can’t call it living
Just to feed my family

If I could fly away
I’d blow all my troubles away
And go back to Montana
Throw a Houlihan
Go fishing in that Rocky Mountain stream
Gonna live out the life that I dream

Now I ain’t complaining
No, I’m just explaining
What’s going on inside of me
Prices so high
My paycheck runs dry
Before I can pay my owed fees

If I could fly away
I’d blow all my troubles away
And go back to Montana
Throw a Houlihan
Go fishing in that Rocky Mountain stream
Gonna live out the life that I dream

When my kids have all grown
Gonna take time to roam
Just me and my wife Jolene
Gonna pack up our goods
Gonna head to the woods
Go fishing in that Rocky Mountain stream

And then we’re gonna fly away
We’re gonna throw all our troubles away
And go back to Montana
Throw a Houlihan
Go fishing in that Rocky Mountain stream
Gonna live out the life that I dream

Words & music by Larry Long
Copyright Larry Long 1981; Renewed 2025 / BMI

“At our table there’s always room for one ore. Even if it means we have to skimp here and there on some of our food. This is the way it’s always
been at our house.” – Al Olsen, Helena, Montana

Al Olsen has been a bull rider, farmer, lumberjack, hard rock miner, steward of the union, Korean War Veteran, and a good friend.

Fiddlin’ Pete and I met Al at a bar called the Hard Rock Inn outside of the Union Carbide owned town of Rovana, California on the eastern slopes
of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. From the day we met Al he dreamed of kissing off UnionCarbide and returning to the land and people he loves in Montana.

Since then, Al’s dream has come true. As Al told us years ago. “All I need is plenty of food, a little clothes, a little warmth and that home in Montana.”

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