Not going down that road again

Mud on my boots, blood on my grin

I learned the hard way who I let in

Every promise rattled like a chain

I ain’t dragging that weight again

I slept in shadows, called it home

Sang to ghosts when I was alone

I paid my debt, I paid it full

I don’t answer that pull

I ain’t walking that road again

No sir, no how, no when

I burned my name out of that clay

Let the river take the rest away

I shook the dust from where I been

I ain’t walking that road again

Bottle talked, but it never stayed

Truth got bent, then it got delayed

Every smile hid a knife

I lost years trying to save that life

Devil smiled like an old friend

Said “just one more time,” I said “amen”

But I woke up with my soul intact

And I ain’t trading it back

I ain’t walking that road again

No sir, no how, no when

I crossed myself at the county line

Left that hunger back in time

I got my spine, I got my skin

I ain’t walking that road again

Ain’t mad, ain’t bitter, ain’t sad

Just smarter than I ever had

Some lessons leave a scar that stays

So you don’t forget the way

I ain’t walking that road again

Hear my heel hit solid ground

If you hear that old song call my name

Tell it I ain’t around

I buried that past where it fell

I ain’t walking that road again

Sun low, crow cry, night roll in

I tip my hat to where I been

But my feet know where they stand

And they don’t turn back, not again