Country Kid

I was a country kid, through and through
I got my bare feet bit by a wreckin' crew
Of fire ants on a mission for total domination of the front yard
Three years old on a ramshackle farm
Winnie the Pooh in the crook of my arm
Brother and sister not meanin' no harm pickin' on me

I was a country kid with a strong foundation
Gettin' myself a whole second education in the back of the bus
Kids kissin' and cussin' all around me

One more pickup in the trailer park
Hand to mouth, livin'll break a young heart
Beautiful girl with a hard, hard look in her eyes

Then I grew up and hit the city
But the skyscrapers never get me
I fly above 'em all the time, straight through cloud nine
Flowin' fast like the Mississippi

I was a country kid, shootin' hoops in the dirt
Hidin' smokes in the pocket of a homemade shirt
Runnin' laps in the yard until my little legs hurt
And then goin' again

Six feet of air off a plywood ramp
Dad's weldin' machine parked where I would land
All I could taste was blood
All I could feel were the rocks in the palms of my hands

I was a country kid, throwin' parties in the woods
Draggin' my friends out of their neighborhoods
Jealous of their cable TV and their girls next door

Slippin' off into the dark of the night
The shape of a body traced by moonlight
Interrupted by some other kid wantin' to fight over her

Then I grew up and hit the city
But the skyscrapers never get me
I fly above 'em all the time, straight through cloud nine
Flowin' fast like the Mississippi
Flowin' fast like the Mississippi, woo!

I was a country kid, now I'm grown
With a job and a wife and a son of my own
Navigatin' time zones, inspecting the bones of the second half

Talkin' to God a little more often
Less requests and more sayin' thank you
For every single town and every single acre in between

'Cause I grew up and hit the city
But that metropolis will never get me
I fly above 'it all the time, straight through cloud nine
Flowin' fast like the Mississippi
Yeah, I grew up and hit the city
But the skyscrapers never get me
I fly above 'em all the time, straight through cloud nine
Flowin' fast like the Mississippi