I've got some mighty tall tales from livin' hard and fast 
I'm a walkin,' talkin,' livin,' breathin,' portrait of my past 
I've double-crossed the devil, prayed the Lord my soul to keep 
Escaped some early graves by the skin of my teeth 
All the deepest secrets of my soul the world can plainly see 
'Cause everything I've ever done is written all over me 
If you just read between the lines of this well-weathered face of mine 
Every wrinkle, every scar was a painful work of art 
That reminds me of mistakes that I've made 
And no story I can tell can tell it quite as well 
As these souvenirs that livin's left behind 
So take a long, hard look at the cover of this book 
And read between the lines 
And read between the lines 

They might be hard to find on this rigid face of stone 
There are pleasant deep impressions that are solid as gold 
And I'll be the first to tell you that this ol' boy's been blessed 
'Cause even the worst of times have turned out for the best 
Like roads on a map they cross a battered stretch of skin 
You can trace your way through memory lane to anywhere I've been 

If you just read between the lines of this well-weathered face of mine 
Every wrinkle, every scar was a painful work of art 
That reminds me of mistakes that I've made 
And no story I can tell can tell it quite as well 
As these souvenirs that livin's left behind 
So take a long, hard look at the cover of this book 
And read between the lines 
And read between the lines