Long Time Gone

Yeah, Daddy sits on the front porch swingin'

Lookin' out on a vacant field

Used to be filled with burley tobacco

Now he knows it never will

My brother's found work in Indiana

Sister's a nurse at the old folks' home

Mama's still cooking too much for supper

And me, I been a long time gone

Been a long time gone

I ain't hoed a row since I don't know when

Long time gone

And it ain't comin' back again

Now, Delia plays that old church piano

Sittin' out on her daddy's farm

She always thought we'd be together

Lord, I never meant to do her harm

Said she could hear me singin' in the choir

Me, I heard another song

I caught wind and hit the road runnin'

Lord, I been a long time gone

Been a long time gone

I ain't had a prayer since I don't know when

Long time gone

And it ain't comin' back again

Now me, I went to Nashville, trying to be the big deal

Playing down on Broadway, getting there the hard way

Living from a tip jar, sleeping in my car

Hocking my guitar, yeah, I'm gonna be a star

Now me and Delia sing every Sunday

Watching the garden and the children grow

We listen to the radio to hear what's cooking

But the music ain't got no soul

Now, they sound tired, but they don't sound Haggard

They got money, but they don't have Cash

They got Junior, but they don't have Hank

I think, I think, I think the rest is

A long time gone

No, I ain't honked a horn since I don't know when

Long time gone

And it ain't coming back again (long time gone)

No, I ain't honked a horn since I don't know when

Long time gone

And it ain't coming back again

Yeah

Yeah

Well, a long time, long time, long time gone

Lord, it's been a long time

A long time, long time, long time gone

Lord, it's been a long time gone

Well, a long time, long time, long time gone, yeah, yeah