Shenandoah

I got money in my pocket and a guitar in my hand
These lonely nights without you are more than I can stand
I work like a puppet but it's time to cut the strings

Well I hit the ground running and I won't be looking back
I'll be like a locomotive headed down a one way track
It won't take too long just you wait and see

As long as it will lead me back to you
Any old stretch of blacktop will do

North, south, east or west been everywhere it seems
Uptown rooms and honky tonks don't feel like home to me
I'll be stepping out the rhythm while I'm singing a new song
And it's knowing where I'm going that will keep me moving on

Turn my collar to the wind and put my thumb up in the air
Flag a diesel down or catch a bus from anywhere
Colorado, California, or even Kalamazoo

As long as it will lead me back to you
Any old stretch of blacktop will do

Well I hit the ground running and I won't be looking back
I'll be like a locomotive headed down a one way track
It won't take too long just you wait and see

As long as it will lead me back to you
Any old stretch of blacktop will do, alright

North, south, east or west been everywhere it seems
Uptown rooms and honky tonks don't feel like home to me
I'll be stepping out the rhythm while I'm singing a new song
'Cause right around the corner I see the lights of our home

he owns a big estate
just south of savannah
and a high rise hotel in down-town atlanta
add half the state of georgia to his name
she'd be set for life in his coloniel manner
he laid the world at her feet on a silver platter
but all i had to offer her, was

Just about a mile off-a one-oh-nine
There's a little church sittin' back in the pines
I promised that girl she was gonna be mine
I wouldn't be surprised if she was standin' there cryin'

Wo ah, I didn't know this bored-out ford could go so slow
Wo ah, you got to put your foot down on the floor
Yeah we've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road

Billy's passed out in the back, but I think he's alive
Bobby's got his head hangin' over the side
Here we are doin' only ninety-five
What's the matter with you, man?
I thought you said you could drive

Wo ah, I didn't know this bored-out ford could go so slow
Wo ah, you got to put your foot down on the floor
Yeah we've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road

Sweeter than the dew on a honeysuckle vine
Hotter than noon on the fourth of July
Cutest little girl that I ever have known
Waitin' at the church on Cumberland Road

Wo ah, I didn't know this bored-out ford could go so slow
Wo ah, you got to put your foot down on the floor
'Cause we've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road
We've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road

Intro

Ridin' down the road in my pick-up truck
ya better get ready cause I'm pickin' you up
with a full moon a shinin' and a little bit a luck
we'll run out outta gas and maybe get stuck
we could get lost baby I don't care
I ain't worried as long as you're there
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to sittin' next to me
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to you, next to me

Barbecue chicken in aluminum foil
just enough money for my gas and oil
who needs your shrimp and your caviar?
I'd sooner have you just the way you are
Rich people got their money to hold
mansion on the hill 'n' diamonds and gold
well, it can't compare as far as I can see
next to sittin' next to me
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to you, next to me

Radio playin' our favorite song
I'll change the station if the news comes on
when the signal ain't comin' in too strong
we'll make our music honey all night long
if the Good Lord's willin' when we're old and gray
the kids are grown up and moved away
well, it can't compare as far as I can see
next to sittin' next to me
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to you, next to me

We got married one afternoon in may
Never did see the light of day, on our honeymoon
We didn't have much when we started out
Your grandma's bed and a three room house, but we made do
Oh, oh I got you, oh, oh I got you

You could've had that boy you used to know
He's a millionaire from Ohio, your mama told me so
When the best I could do was the factory
You didn't get much when you got me, maybe that's true
But oh, oh I got you, oh, oh I got you

I got something that money can't buy
Cross my heart and I hope to die
Don't need nothing that I can't afford
I got you and I thank the lord

Now if all that's left is the rocking chair
I'll be fine knowing you'll be there, rocking too
Oh, oh I got you, oh, oh I got you
Oh, oh I got you, oh, oh I got you
Oh, oh I got you, oh, oh I got you
Oh, oh I got you, oh, oh I got you

I don't pick up the mail
I don't pick up the phone
I don't answer the door
I'd just as soon be alone
I don't keep this place up
I just keep the lights down
I don't live in these rooms
I just rattle around
I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shadow

Intro

Ridin' down the road in my pick-up truck
ya better get ready cause I'm pickin' you up
with a full moon a shinin' and a little bit a luck
we'll run out outta gas and maybe get stuck
we could get lost baby I don't care
I ain't worried as long as you're there
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to sittin' next to me
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to you, next to me

Barbecue chicken in aluminum foil
just enough money for my gas and oil
who needs your shrimp and your caviar?
I'd sooner have you just the way you are
Rich people got their money to hold
mansion on the hill 'n' diamonds and gold
well, it can't compare as far as I can see
next to sittin' next to me
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to you, next to me

Radio playin' our favorite song
I'll change the station if the news comes on
when the signal ain't comin' in too strong
we'll make our music honey all night long
if the Good Lord's willin' when we're old and gray
the kids are grown up and moved away
well, it can't compare as far as I can see
next to sittin' next to me
there ain't no place that I'd rather be
next to you, next to me

He was the captain of a team in forty two
A favorite of the fans and the ladies too
I still love those stories about the rock

He fought for his country in Normandy
And drove the Germans back to Germany
Captains right hand man was a rock

And to me he look tall as a tree
At times I though he'd never notice me
Standing in the shadow of the rock

I try to make him proud of me
But my mistakes was all he'd see
It always seems so hard to please the rock

And he'll never know how hard I try
Be the man I thought that I shouldn't be in his eyes
And I gave my all to be strong and stand tall, to be the rock
Oh Lord, it's hard to live up to the rock

He came to visited me the other day
I couldn't believe how much he'd aged
But in my eyes he'll always be the rock

He said, "Son, ain't it funny how the years roll by"
As he turned his head, I saw him rub his eyes
I never had felt closer to the rock

He said, "Son, you made my life complete"
The only man I try to be
I never thought I'd hear from the rock

And I was almost home, he comforted me
He said, "It's an honor to call you, son"
And I'm proud to say, "You're a chip off the old block"

And you'll never know how hard I try
To be the man I thought that I shouldn't be in your eyes
And I gave my all to be strong and stand tall and be your rock
Oh Lord, it's hard to live up to the rock
Oh Lord, it's hard to live up to the rock

I brought flowers to your door last night
I done wrong and I wanna make it right
You say I'm not welcome here
I know it oughta be perfectly clear
But I can't help but wonder what it might be like
If I had two dozen roses
And an old bottle of wine

Just about a mile off-a one-oh-nine
There's a little church sittin' back in the pines
I promised that girl she was gonna be mine
I wouldn't be surprised if she was standin' there cryin'

Wo ah, I didn't know this bored-out ford could go so slow
Wo ah, you got to put your foot down on the floor
Yeah we've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road

Billy's passed out in the back, but I think he's alive
Bobby's got his head hangin' over the side
Here we are doin' only ninety-five
What's the matter with you, man?
I thought you said you could drive

Wo ah, I didn't know this bored-out ford could go so slow
Wo ah, you got to put your foot down on the floor
Yeah we've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road

Sweeter than the dew on a honeysuckle vine
Hotter than noon on the fourth of July
Cutest little girl that I ever have known
Waitin' at the church on Cumberland Road

Wo ah, I didn't know this bored-out ford could go so slow
Wo ah, you got to put your foot down on the floor
'Cause we've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road
We've been rocking all night, now, don't you know
You gotta get me to the church on Cumberland Road

Mill worker houses lined up in a row,
another southern sunday morning blow
Beneath the steeple all the people have begun
shakin' hands with the man who grips the gospel gun
While the quiet prayer, the smell of dinner on the ground
heals up the morning air

Me and Jimmy Crowder and a single cigarette
Crouched down in a stall out in the barn
Three puffs later we were sick as we could get
Praying we'd get better before we got home
She saw me coming through the back door screen
I knew the minute that she looked at me

Mama knows, mama knows
Sometimes I think she's got a window to my soul
Mama knows, mama knows
Even when I think it doesn't show
Mama knows

Me and Becky Johnson ankle deep in ocean waves
Pants rolled up and hearts out on our sleeves
Both feeling more than either one of us could say
That first love left the sweetest memory
Fifteen and shy I didn't tell a soul
How is it mama never has to be told

Mama knows, mama knows
Sometimes I think she's got a window to my soul
Mama knows, mama knows
Even when I think it doesn't show
Mama knows

I wasn't home when mama passed away
Didn't get to say I love you
But I've got this feeling

Mama knows, mama knows
Sometimes I think she's got a window to my soul
Mama knows, mama knows
Even when I think it doesn't show
Mama knows

Mill worker houses lined up in a row,
another southern sunday morning blow
Beneath the steeple all the people have begun
shakin' hands with the man who grips the gospel gun
While the quiet prayer, the smell of dinner on the ground
heals up the morning air