I was born where the bluegrass meets the pines,
Coal smoke and Sunday bells, simple times.
Mama’s voice echoed down that gravel road,
Biscuits in the oven, love in every load.
Bare feet ran through tobacco rows,
Creek was cold, but Lord, it felt like home.
We’d fish ’til dark and pray ‘til dawn,
Swore I’d never leave that place I come from.
But I traded front porch pickin’ for a downtown light,
Where snow falls heavy in the middle of July.
Skyscrapers rise where the hills should be,
And no one waves from their SUV.
I keep a photo in my wallet of that ol’ red barn,
Still hear Daddy’s whistle when the day gets hard.
Southern Kentucky raised me strong and free,
But Minnesota’s got the dreams chasin’ me.
First week up here, Lord, I felt lost,
Couldn’t find sweet tea, not at any cost.
Folks talk fast and they don’t say much,
A little too cold and not near enough touch.
But I’ve found my way, and I’ve made my stand,
Workin’ that 9-to-5 with calloused hands.
Still say “yes ma’am,” and I hold the door,
A southern soul in a northern storm.
Yeah, I traded front porch pickin’ for a downtown light,
Where snow falls heavy in the middle of July.
Skyscrapers rise where the hills should be,
And no one waves from their SUV.
I keep a photo in my wallet of that ol’ red barn,
Still hear Daddy’s whistle when the day gets hard.
Southern Kentucky raised me strong and free,
But Minnesota’s got the dreams chasin’ me.
Sometimes I miss those holler nights,
Stars so close you could touch their light.
But every mile between then and now,
Built the man standin’ here somehow.
So I strum that six-string on a rooftop view,
Singin’ bluegrass verses under skies so blue.
Got a little twang in this urban scene,
A country boy runnin’ on city dreams.
Still hear crickets when the silence falls,
Still see home in a Walmart call.
Southern Kentucky lives inside of me,
Though Minnesota’s where I’m meant to be.
Yeah, I left the holler for the high-rise life,
But I bring a little South to every Northern night.
