D                    G
Ramadan is over, the new moon's shown her face,
     A                              G       A       D
I'm half way around the planet in a most unlikely place.
D                           G
Following my song line past bamboo shacks and shops,
          A                                G       A       D
Behind a jitney packed like sardines, with bananas piled on top.


[Verse 2]
D                         G
I ran away from politics, it's too bizarre at home,
A                              G           A      D
Away I flew, tuned in to Blue, maybe Amsterdam or Rome.
D                              G
Awakened by a stewardess, with Spain somewhere below,
       A                             G       A        D
On the threshold of adventure, God I do love this job so.


[Bridge]
D          G        D           A        D
So while I make my move, on the big board game,
       G              D              A                D
Up and down a Spanish highway, some things remain the same.
G          D        A          Bm
Girls meet boys and boys tease girls,
    G                D                G       A       D
I'm headin' out this morning for the far side of the world.


[Verse 3]
D                           G
Oh I believe in song lines, obvious and not,
     A                                G       A       D
I've ridden them like camels, to some most peculiar spots.
D                                    G
They run across the oceans, through mountains and saloons,
 A                                     G    A       D
And tonight out to the desert, where I sit atop this dune.


[Verse 4]
D                                      G
I was destined for this vantage point, which is so far from the sea,
     A                        G       A    D
I've lived it in the pages of Saint-Exupery.
D                       G
From Paris to Tunisia, Casablanca to Dakar,
      A                                      G        A        D
I was riding long before I flew, through the wind and sand and stars.


[Bridge]
G    D   A        D
Caravan, ride that hump,
G     D       A       D
Timbuktu's a jillion bumps.
G                 D                 A         Bm
Sleeping bags and battle flags are coiled and furled,
G                  D             G       A       D
That's the way you travel to the far side of the world.


[Verse 5]
D                                  G
A sunset framed by lightning bolts burns a lasting memory,
     A                                 G       A       D
And a string of tiny twinkling lights adorn the sausage tree.
D                                  G
While the embers from the log fire flicker, fly, and twirl,
  A                                        G       A       D
Then drift off toward the cosmos, from the far side of the world.


[Verse 6]
D                                    G
Well it's Christmas and my birthday, and so to that extent,
     A                           G     A     D
The Masai, not the wise men, are circling my tent.
D                                G
I teach them how to play guitar, they show me how to dance,
        A                           G        A     D
We have rum from the Caribbean, and Burgundy from France.


[Verse 7]
D                                G
New Year's Eve in Zanzibar, with Babu and his boys,
     A                          G       A      D
High up on the rooftop, you can relish all the noise.
D                               G
They're dancing on the tables, people bouncing like gazelles,
    A                              G       A         D
Two oh oh one is ushered in with air-raid horns and bells.


[Bridge]
G       D      A      D
Time to sing, time to dance,
G       D      A      D
Living out my second chance.
G           D                A          Bm
Cobras and sleeping bags are coiled and curled,
G                 D              G        A      D
That's the way it happens on the far side of the world.


[Verse 8]
D                                G
Back at home, it's afternoon six thousand miles away,
     A                                    G         A      D
It will still be there when I get through attending this soiree.
D                                            G
There are jobs and chores and questions, and plates I need to twirl,
  A                                     G        A      D
But tonight I'll take my chances on the far side of the world.
G                      D              G        A      D
Yes, that's the way it happens on the far side of the world.