Late Night OTB – Confederate Railroad

When you get past the mullets and the name, Danny Shirley and Confederate Railroad put out some quality songs across the spectrum of the country genre, from cutesy to honky tonk to some superb ballads. This, from their eponymous 1993 debut album, is one of the latter:

I remember waking in the morning
To the sound of the rooster’s crow
Mamma cooking in the kitchen
Arthur Godfrey on the radio
Me and Dad were just like strangers
We never did see eye to eye
Came to blows one Sunday morning
So I packed my bags and I said goodbye
CHORUS
When you leave that way you can never go back
A train won’t run on a torn up track
Sometimes I wish I’d never roamed,oh no
‘Cause when you leave that way you can never go home
Then I met a girl in Knoxville
Oh, we set our wedding day
I left her standing at the alter
With a baby on the way
REPEAT CHORUS
Lord I’d love to see my mom and daddy
And what I’d give to hold that boy of mine
I’d get down on my knees and I’d say I’m sorry
If I could only go back one more time
But I killed a man in Houston
When he caught me with his wife
And I told the preacher man to leave me alone
When he came to read my rights
CHORUS
He said son,when you leave this way you can never come back
A soul won’t roll on a torn up track
All through eternity you’ll roam alone
‘Cause when you leave this way you can never come home
All through eternity you’ll roam alone
‘Cause when you leave this way you can never come home

Confederate Railroad When You Leave That Way (You Can Never Go Back) lyrics

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James Joyner
About James Joyner
James Joyner is Professor and Department Head of Security Studies at Marine Corps University's Command and Staff College. He's a former Army officer and Desert Storm veteran. Views expressed here are his own. Follow James on Twitter @DrJJoyner.