[Verse 1]
You left your coat on the kitchen chair
One silver button and a strand of hair
The kettle coughed, then the house went still
I heard your truck fade past the mill
[Chorus]
Go on, baby, take the long way home
I ain't gonna beg where I can't belong
Your name still burns on the county line
But this old heart is learning to lie
Go on, baby, let that red dust roll
You can't steal what I finally know
[Verse 2]
The landlord knocked with a folded bill
Said your side of the bed looked colder still
I paid him cash from the harvest jar
Then drove till dawn beneath a broken star
[Chorus]
Go on, baby, take the long way home
I ain't gonna beg where I can't belong
Your name still burns on the county line
But this old heart is learning to lie
Go on, baby, let that red dust roll
You can't steal what I finally know
[Bridge]
I kept your picture by the fuse-box door
Till the rain came through and washed the floor
Now the frame hangs empty, the nail stays bent
Some things leave without paying rent
[Final Chorus]
Go on, baby, take the long way home
I ain't gonna beg where I can't belong
Your name still burns on the county line
But this old heart is learning to lie
Go on, baby, let that red dust roll
You can't steal what I finally know
[Outro]
The kettle's quiet, the truck is gone
I turn the porch light off before dawn