Time and time again I tried to get back to my home town

On my mind again I'm on my way back, take a look around

The places I remember where my picture comes undone

Such a long way back and this boy's lost track of the place where he was young.



And I'm back on the street where I used to live

And I passed an old friend who was holding his kid

And I swear I can almost hear mamma call my name.



And I'm back on the river where I was Huck Finn

Just Charlie McLaughlin he always played Jim

Now I know why they say you just can't go home again

Yes, I know why they say you just can't go home again.



My friends and I could talk the night away about where we were going

Laying out our lives, we had no way of ever knowing

The plans we made keep changing and people they just do the same

It's a long way back and we all lose track of the faces and the names.



And I stop for an ice cream at the corner drug store

A double-deck cone ain't a dime anymore

Have things really changed so much or is it just me?



And I asked about Tom, he ran the picture show

And somebody said he died years ago

Now I know why they say you just can't go home again

Yes, I know why they say you just can't go home again.



Such a long way back and this boy's lost track

Of the places and their names.



And I spoke to the bum as he sat on the ground

That crazy old man he's still toasting the town

For the first time in my life I understood.



How the wine that had taken his worries and cares

Had also taken the love he once shared

Then he cried as he said I just can't go home again

Now I know why they say you just can't go home again

Yes, I know why they say you just can't go home again.