I was raised off Rural Route Three
Out past where the black top ends
We'd walk to Church on Sunday mornings
Race barefoot back to Johnson's fence
That's where I first saw Mary
On that roadside picking blackberries
That summer I turned a corner in my soul
Down that red dirt road

It's where I drank my first beer
It's where I found Jesus
Where I wrecked my first car
I tore it all to pieces
I learned the path to Heaven
Is full of sinners and believers
Learned that happiness on earth
Ain't just for high achievers
I've learned, I come to know
There's life at both ends
Of that red dirt road

Her Daddy didn't like me much
In my shackled up GTO
Oh, I'd sneak out in the middle of the night
Throw rocks at her bedroom window
We'd turn out the headlights
Drive by the moonlight
Talk about what the future might hold
Down that red dirt road

It's where I drank my first beer
It's where I found Jesus
Where I wrecked my first car
I tore it all to pieces
I learned the path to Heaven
Is full of sinners and believers
Learned that happiness on earth
Ain't just for high achievers
I've learned, I come to know
There's life at both ends
Of that red dirt road

I went out into the world
And I came back in
I lost Mary
Oh, I got her back again
And driving home tonight
Feels like I've found a long-lost friend

It's where I drank my first beer
It's where I found Jesus
Where I wrecked my first car
I tore it all to pieces
I learned the path to Heaven
Is full of sinners and believers
Learned that happiness on earth
Ain't just for high achievers
I've learned, I come to know
There's life at both ends
Of that red dirt road