[Verse 1]
We came up river-bent
Same dirt, same roof
You had my back in the cold
I had yours in the truth
Granddad said hold the line
When the grain bin shook
Red, white, blue on the porch rail
And a worn-out Bible book
We laughed in a pickup bed
Through the county rain
Two boys with the same last name
Swearin' blood don't change
[Pre-Chorus]
Then the moon got mean
Over split-screen nights
Your ring on the dash
And her outta sight
I heard the door slam hard
Like a flag in flame
Brother, I lost the map
When you said her name
[Chorus]
Backward jam, backward jam
Take me where we began
Red, white, blue
Runnin' through my hand
Backward jam, backward jam
If love can break, it can mend
Moon on the river
Tell me where I stand
[Verse 2]
Now the fields look strange
When I drive that road
House half-empty, heart half-closed
And the porch light low
She packed her sins in a suitcase
Left a scar in the dawn
I kept my pride in a coffee can
But the trust was gone
You picked a side, I picked a prayer
And the truth got loud
Cheating talk in the churchyard dust
With a hungry crowd
[Pre-Chorus]
Still the moon rolls on
Silver over steel
River keep on flyin'
Like it knows how to heal
If I call your name
Will you answer mine?
Can two broken men
Walk back through time?
[Chorus]
Backward jam, backward jam
Take me where we began
Red, white, blue
Runnin' through my hand
Backward jam, backward jam
If love can break, it can mend
Moon on the river
Tell me where I stand
[Bridge]
I don't want revenge
I want my brother back
I want the porch-talk nights
And the old dirt track
I want a clean-cut mornin'
No lie in the dark
Just two lost sons
With the same scarred heart
[Final Chorus]
Backward jam, backward jam
Take me where we began
Red, white, blue
Runnin' through my hand
Backward jam, backward jam
If love can break, it can mend
Moon on the river
Tell me where I stand
Backward jam, backward jam
Let the hurt wash down
Brotherhood and ashes
Spinnin' back around