Back 40 Back

"For sale by owner" sign
On Highway 59
A signal of the times
A turnin' of the page
There used to be nothin' here
Then nothin' disappeared
The pond, the barn, the farm, the fields
Have long since been replaced

Asphalt parking where that ten-pew Pentecostal stood
Fast food, four lanes and a subdivided neighborhood

Walls of the world are closin' in
The spreadin' city spreads us thin
We can't seem to make our ends, meet the black
Never would've thought it wouldn't last
A way of life that time moved past
What I wouldn't give to have the back 40 back

Maybe I'm a sucker for
Knowing who lives next door
A view from my back porch
A pinch of peace and quiet
You can't get back the used-to-be
So I hang on to the memories
And I could still look up and see
The stars, not streetlights shinin'

The walls of the world are closin' in
The spreadin' city spreads us thin
We can't seem to make our ends, meet the black
Never woulda thought it wouldn't last
A way of life that time moved past
What I wouldn't give to have the back 40 back

Now I get that progress has its place
No regard for what it takes
Wish it would slow its pace and cut us all some slack
'Cause it's all changing way too fast
A way of life that time moved past
What I wouldn't give to have the back 40 back