It's knowin' that your door is always open
And your path is free to walk
That makes me tend to leave my sleepin' bag
Rolled up and stashed behind your couch
And it's knowin' I'm not shackled
By forgotten words and bonds
And the ink stains that are dried upon some line
That keeps you on the backroads
By the rivers of my mem'ry
That keeps you ever gentle on my mind
It's not clingin' to the rocks and ivy
Planted on their columns now that binds me
Or somethin' that somebody said
Because they thought we fit together walkin'
It's just knowin' that the world will not be cursin' or forgivin'
When I walk along some railroad track and find
That you're movin' on the backroads
By the rivers of my mem'ry
And for hours you're just gentle on my mind
Though the wheat fields and the clotheslines
And the junkyards and the highways come between us
And some other woman cryin' to her mother
'Cause she turned and I was gone
I still might run in silence, tears of joy might stain my face
And the summer sun might burn me 'til I'm blind
But not to where I cannot see
You walkin' on the backroads
By the rivers flowin' gentle on my mind
With shutters creekin' autumn winds
That make me draw inside myself in silence
Cross-legged now, I sit and watch
The endless, chasin' leaves across my yard
And layin' down my hairbrush
I lean back within my window seat and find
That you're movin' on the backroads
By the rivers of my mem'ry
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind
Through cupped hands 'round the tin can
I pretend to hold you to my breast and find
That you're wavin' from the backroads
By the rivers of my mem'ry
Ever smilin', ever gentle on my mind