Further Down the Line

"It's harder in the winter
When the leaves are on the ground,"
My father whispered as we wandered
Cross the creek and into town
No arrowheads, our pockets
Were as empty as the sky
On a cold December morning
Passing time by his side

They were cutting through the highway
With a hundred ton machine
I remember how it split the earth
With steel and gasoline
And how I knew there's no returning
To the way that things had been
How my father said, "The world
Is only memories in the end"

If I live to be as old
As the hills of Carolina
You will find me walking slow
Among the poplars and the pines
Know that I am not alone
I can see the porch light shining
Where the loved ones that have gone
Are waiting further down the line

"It's hotter than the devil
When the room fills up with steam,"
Mama warned me as she washed
And I played silent at her feet
There were women smoking, laughing
Canning jars stacked all around
I stole a peach and ran out back
Juice running from my mouth

In the yard an old magnolia
Twice as tall as any house
I climbed until the gods could hear
Me singing in the clouds
I was seven when we moved
They chopped it down, hauled it away
My mama told me, "There ain't
Nothing ever stays the same"

If I live to be as old
As the hills of Carolina
You will find me walking slow
Among the poplars and the pines
Know that I am not alone
I can see the porch light shining
Where the loved ones that have gone
Are waiting further down the line

If I live to be as old
As the hills of Carolina
You will find me walking slow
Among the poplars and the pines
Know that I am not alone
I can see the porch light shining
Where the loved ones that have gone
Are waiting further down the line