Daddy sits on the front porch swinging
Looking out on a vacant field
Used to be filled with burley tobacco
Now he knows it never will
Brother found work in Indiana
Sister's a nurse at the old folks home
Mama still cooking too much for supper
And me, I've 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 coming back again
♪
Delia plays that ol' 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 singin' in the choir
Me, I heard another song
I caught wind and hit the road runnin'
And Lord, I've 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
Tryin' to be the big deal
Playin' down on Broadway
Gettin' 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 singin' every Sunday
Watching the children and the garden grow
We listen to the radio to hear what's cookin'
But the music ain't got no soul
Now they sound tired, but they don't sound Haggard
They've 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 the 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
Well, it's been a long time
A long time, long time, long time gone
Oh, it's been a long time gone
Long time, long time, long time gone
Yeah, yeah