I remember waking in the morning
To the sound of the rooster's crow
Mamma cooking in the kitchen
Arthur Godfrey on the radio

Me and Dad were just like strangers
We never did see eye to eye
Came to blows one Sunday morning
So I packed my bags and I said goodbye

CHORUS
When you leave that way you can never go back
A train won't run on a torn up track
Sometimes I wish I'd never roamed,oh no
'Cause when you leave that way you can never go home

Then I met a girl in Knoxville
Oh, we set our wedding day
I left her standing at the alter
With a baby on the way

REPEAT CHORUS

Lord I'd love to see my mom and daddy
And what I'd give to hold that boy of mine
I'd get down on my knees and I'd say I'm sorry
If I could only go back one more time

But I killed a man in Houston
When he caught me with his wife
And I told the preacher man to leave me alone
When he came to read my rights

CHORUS
He said son,when you leave this way you can never come back
A soul won't roll on a torn up track
All through eternity you'll roam alone
'Cause when you leave this way you can never come home
All through eternity you'll roam alone
'Cause when you leave this way you can never come home