I remember the night my dad stopped the car
And got out in the rain
Changed a blown out tire on a car
For a family without of state plates
I said, "Dad, did we know those folks?"
As they waved and drove out of sight
He just smiled as he started the car
He said, "Son, not 'til tonight"

You see the road you leave behind you
Is another road you're gonna have to come back down
It's just the way this big old world turns 'round
You'll find somehow, somewhere, some place sometime
You gotta go back down the road you leave behind

Stuck out on the highway one night
Many years gone by
Had the hood of my truck pulled up
My ol' gas tank was dry
Some ol' guy getting off on the night shift
Pulled up to check on me
He said, "I've been in your shoes before, son
And it's no place to be"

You see the road you leave behind you
Is another road you're gonna have to come back down
It's just the way this big old world turns 'round
You'll find somehow, somewhere, some place sometime
You gotta go back down the road you leave behind

I said, "What do I owe you, friend, you could easily pass me by?"
He said, "Next time it might be me, son, you don't owe me a dime"

You see the road you leave behind you
Is another road you're gonna have to come back down
It's just the way this big old world turns 'round
You'll find somehow, somewhere, some place sometime
You gotta go back down the road you leave behind
Down the road you leave behind
The road you leave behind
Down the road you leave behind
Down the road you leave behind