[Verse 1]
I was born where the cypress lean
Boots in the mud, heart in between
Daddy said, "Boy, don't fear that rain"
Mama said, "Love still leaves a stain"
Hurt rides close in a Carolina breeze
Sweet talks low through the kudzu leaves
I wore my pride like a patched-up coat
Till your name got caught in my throat
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, the road bends hard
When you carry too much
Oh, the night gets long
When your hands need touch
[Chorus]
Carolina mudline
Pull me back again
Carolina mudline
Love, pain, and sin
Carolina mudline
Where the broken sing
Carolina mudline
You’re the root of everything
[Verse 2]
I seen men laugh with a knife in their eyes
Seen good girls pray to the same old lies
I seen my own shadow cross that creek
Thought I was strong, turned out I was weak
You came in slow with your Sunday fire
Talked like truth and danced like desire
We made a home from the scraps we had
Some days holy, some days bad
[Pre-Chorus]
Oh, the river takes
What the river takes
Oh, my hands shook
But my heart awake
[Chorus]
Carolina mudline
Pull me back again
Carolina mudline
Love, pain, and sin
Carolina mudline
Where the broken sing
Carolina mudline
You’re the root of everything
[Bridge]
[Female]
If I go, keep my name in the trees
Keep my voice in the swamp and reeds
[Male]
If you stay, I’ll carry your weight
Even when the flood comes late
[Female]
We are dirt, we are flame
Same old song, different name
[Male]
Life takes, love gives
Everything between is how we live
[Chorus]
Carolina mudline
Pull me back again
Carolina mudline
Love, pain, and sin
Carolina mudline
Where the broken sing
Carolina mudline
You’re the root of everything
[Outro]
Mud on my boots
Truth in my chest
Love in the ruin
And the rest... the rest