Asphalt Saints (Miles Between My Soul)

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I kissed my baby in the cold dawn light,

Left my name on another lonely night.

Steel-toe boots and a diesel prayer,

The highway don't care who's waiting there.

Coffee's black, my hands are stained,

Every mile costs a little pain.

The white lines whisper, "Keep moving on..."

While another piece of me is gone.

I'm one of the asphalt saints, riding through the rain,

Hauling everybody's dreams while carrying my own pain.

The world's asleep, but these wheels still roll,

Trading birthdays for another load.

The radio's talking, but it don't know my name,

Only my number and another freight lane.

Lord, tell me... what is a man worth today?

If he gives his whole life... just to drive away.

I've watched the sun die over Oklahoma skies,

Seen heaven burning in my windshield eyes.

Crosses line these old back roads,

Every one belonged to a brother hauling loads.

My little boy learned to throw a ball,

Without his daddy there at all.

His first words came through a phone,

A father's voice... but never home.

I'm one of the asphalt saints, riding through the rain,

Hauling everybody's dreams while carrying my own pain.

The world's asleep, but these wheels still roll,

Trading Christmas mornings for another load.

The paycheck comes, then disappears,

It never bought back wasted years.

Lord, tell me... what does freedom mean?

When your prison has eighteen wheels beneath.

The chrome gets polished...

The soul gets worn.

The engine keeps running...

But the heart gets torn.

Every truck stop leaves another ghost,

Every goodbye hurts the most.

They call us heroes when shelves run dry...

Then forget our names when the roads are fine.

I'm one of the asphalt saints, bound by diesel chains,

Living for tomorrow while yesterday remains.

The road gives everything... then takes it all away,

One more sunrise... one less yesterday.

If these tires ever stop before I reach my end,

Tell my family I loved them more than this old wind.

'Cause a trucker leaves his footprints where nobody can see...

On the hearts back home...

...and somewhere between the miles...

He slowly loses himself...

Just so the world can keep moving.

The highway never cries...

It just keeps taking men...

...