Long Time Gone

Daddy sits on the front porch swingin'
 Looking out on a vacant field
 Used to be filled with Burley tobacco
 Now he knows it never will
 My brother 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
 No, I ain't hoed a row since I don't know when
 Long time gone
 And it ain't comin' back again
 Delia plays that old church piano
 Sittin' out on her daddy's farm
 She always thought that we'd be together
 Lord, I never meant to do her harm
 Said she could hear me singing in the choir
 Me, I heard another song
 I caught wind and hit the road runnin'
 And, Lord, I been a long time gone
 Been a long time gone
 Lord, 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 Deliah, singing every Sunday
 Watching the children and the garden grow
 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 hit the roof since I don't know when
 Long time gone
 And it ain't coming back
 I said 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
 I said a long time, long time, long time gone
 Whoa, it's been a long time
 Long time, long time, long time gone
 Oh, it's been a long time gone
 Long time, long time, long time gone, yeah