One Way Ticket Home

"One Way Ticket Home"
Promotional copy of "One Way Ticket Home"
Single by Phil Ochs
B-side	"My Kingdom for a Car"
Released	1972
Format	Vinyl
Genre	Rock
Length	2:39
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Phil Ochs
Producer(s)	Van Dyke Parks
Phil Ochs singles chronology
"My Life" (1969) "One Way Ticket Home" (1972) "Kansas City Bomber" (1973)
"My Life" (1969) "One Way Ticket Home" (1972) "Kansas City Bomber" (1973)

"One Way Ticket Home" is a 1970 song by Phil Ochs, an American singer-songwriter best known for the protest songs he wrote in the 1960s.

"One Way Ticket Home" is the first song on Greatest Hits, which—despite its title—was a collection of new songs. Musically, it signals a return by Ochs to his musical roots in country music and early rock and roll.

In the song, Ochs announces that he wants to buy a "one-way ticket home". Inspired by a recent Elvis concert in Las Vegas, Ochs declares "Elvis Presley is the king/I was at his crowning." But something is wrong: "My life just flashed before my eyes/I must be drowning." Referring to the political climate in the United States, Ochs says he "would be in exile now/But everywhere's the same" and decides he wants a "one-way ticket home".