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