Tennesee oh what I'd give to be back there once again with all the old friends
Who were so kind to me oh Tennessee I was happy as could be
Never got too much done but livin' sure was fun in Tennessee
This big city just depresses me though everybody's as kind as can be
A homesick feeling possesses me I won't be the same till I'm back there again
Tennessee guess the country boy in me
Won't ever be at ease till I feel that southern breeze in Tennessee
1. You have heard and read about the state of Tennessee.
Down in the southern states is where I want to be.
Where the valleys are so green and mountains are so tall.
You will know just what I mean when you hear them say "you all".
cho: Tennessee (Tennessee) I hear you calling me (I hear you calling me).
The home of Davy Crockett in the hills of Tennessee.
2. When I was a little boy around the folks back home.
My mother always said to me: Jimmy, please don't roam.
Now that I have gone away my heart is full of woe.
When I think of Mom and Dad, that's where I want to go.
cho....
3. If ever I get back to that state of Tennessee.
I tell you there'll be no more roaming for me.
There lives a sweetheart who said she'd marry me.
As soon as I get back to that state of Tennessee.
Your dream can never earn enough
Ultimate nihilistic love
Tennessee nights just zip-code love
Always believe the comfort of strangers
Tennessee eyes graffiti once blue
Media sells a trace of hate
Media sells a trace of hate
Our epitaph reads like your sin
Subvert, destroy, beat derelict
Tennessee nights just zip-code love
Commanche becomes as maggot
Tennessee eyes orange once blue
Media sells a trace of hate
Media sells a trace of hate
His pain forgets her agony
His heart P-M-R-C
His heart P-M-R-C
The white man is disease
His heart P-M-R-C
Your dream can never earn enough
I got a cool head doin' alright
But I been up here so long I was starving
For some hot spells, summer lights
Shinin' on your back roads
Tennessee
Somebody hit me hard
Right in my own backyard
Somebody put a hope lock on my heart
Runnin' down your back roads
Tennessee
Oh, you got the banjos
Playin' real slow
Not to me, not to me
I never heard such rock and roll
As on your back roads
Tennessee
Now I know you're not to blame
But you know that you should have told me
That I would never be the same
There aren't any back roads
Tennessee
Somebody held me tight
Somebody tried to fight
Somebody raced out in the night
Runnin' down your back roads
Tennessee
Oh, you kissed the soul of a rebel
In a Yankee girl
Oh, you got to me
I heard you callin' 'round the world
From your back roads
Tennessee
I saw somebody standin'
In a field with a crutch
Behind his rich southern daddy
With a Midas touch
They said be outta here by sundown
They said good luck
You might say I was the stranger
Who knew too much
Somebody took a hope lock from my heart
And threw it down your back roads
Tennessee
Oh, you feel the north wind blow
That's only me
I want to hear some rock and roll
On your back roads
Tennessee
I'm not the bad city girl
Come down to rape you
I'm not the hometown queen
Who wants to save you
I heard you callin' to my soul
From your back roads
It ain't often I take time to answer calls on the request line
But this one says that we're his best last chance
So all you people in radio land, turn it up loud, loud as you can
Help to carry these words of a desperate man
[Chorus]
Do you believe in love and that we were meant to be?
Two words can free us, so repeat them after me
"I do." from a boy in love to a girl called Tennessee
It's always scary when you find true love
Hits like lightning from high above
You might only get one chance to say
[Repeat Chorus]
He got scared and let her slip away
Now he knows he's not afraid
I'll put him on the air in case she's listening somewhere
Take it to heart, keep in mind
Try to reach out through the telephone line
Caller you're on the air, say it so she hears
I kissed you cause i’ve never been and angel
I learned to say hosannas on my knees
But they threw me out of Sunday school when i was nine
And the sisters said i did just as i pleased
Now even so i tried to be a good girl
its only what i want that makes me weep
i had no desire to be a child of sin
but then you went and pressed your whiskers to my cheek
Fie le lie lie
fie le lie lee
Now let me go my honey-o back to Tennessee
It’s beefsteak when i’m workin
Whiskey when i’m dry
Sweet heaven when i die
Now i tried drinking rye and gambling
Dancing with damnation is a ball
But of all the little ways i found to hurt myself
Well you might be my favorite one of all
Why can’t i go and live the life awryly
Why can’t i go back home to apple pie
There’s no affront a-to my virtue
Was a touch too much
But you left a little twinkle in my eye
Now some’ll come confessing of transgressions
Some they come confessing of their love
You were there strumming on your gay guitar
I see rocky mountains and great lakes
Stood beneath a redwood tree
But wherever I go my heart aches
For a place called Tennessee
Oh come with me
Where the Whiskey flows like whine
And the meth labs are divine
Oh I wanna be
Where the sweet tobacco grows
And is picked by porny groves
In Tennessee
Oh it's a place where dueling banjos play
And the mountain folk run free
Where all the children can spell kay kay kay
But cannot spell Tennessee
Oh come with me
Where every cheek is filled with chew
And everyone's never seen a jew
Oh I wanna be
Where the hotdogs are deep friend
That's the reason Elvis died
In Tennessee
Oh come with me
Where the backstreet preachers shout
That if your gay you best get out
Oh I wanna be
Where hospitality is a thing
Just ask Martin Luther King
Shoot in Tennessee
The birth place of Aretha queen of soul
The BB king in Al Gore
I'm not saying it's a shit hole
But they don't live there anymore
Oh I wanna see
Mountain dew in every cup
And all the dentists just gave up
Oh come with me
On my fat bed pickup truck
That's were the classy ladies fuck
In Tennessee
Wild city living
In takes my breathe away
But I'm not living
The way I ought to be
Check it out, there's surely
Something missing
Got to move, on, before I kiss the ground
I hear you calling
I see your beauty in my mind
A piece of heaven
A place where living in crazy
Check it out, I still recall the feeling
Got to find me a way
Somehow, got to make it back ... to Tennessee
Chasing the rainbow - shooting for the moon
Aiming much too high - getting so confused
I'm all out of luck
I'm all out of love
Guess I... I just had enough
Now my western tears
Remin me of my home
And my western heart reminds me I'm alone
But my heart is sure that love will guide the way
Lord I've really been real stressed
Down and out, losin ground
Although I am black and proud
Problems got me pessimistic
Brothers and sisters keep messin up
Why does it have to be so dman tuff?
I don't know where I can go
To let these ghosts out of my skull
My grandmas past, my brothers gone
I never at once felt so alone
I know you're supposed to be my steering wheel
Not just my spare tire (home)
But lord I ask you (home)
To be my guiding force and truth (home)
For some strange reason it had to be (home)
He guided me to Tennessee (home)
Take me to another place
Take me to another land
Make me forget all that hurts me
Let me understand your plan
Lord it's obvious we got a relationship
Talkin to each other every night and day
Although you're superior over me
We talk to each other in a friendship way
Then outta nowhere you tell me to break
Outta the country and into more country
Past Dyesburg into Ripley
Where the ghost of childhood haunts me
Wlak the roads my forefathers walked
Climbed the trees my forefathers hung from
Ask those trees for all their wisdom
They tell me my ears are so young (home)
Go back to from whence you came (home)
My family tree my family name (home)
For some strange reason it ahd to be (home)
He guided me to Tennessee (home)
Take me to another place
Take me to another land
Make me forget all that hurts me
Let me understand your plan
Now I see the importance of history
Why people be in the mess that they be
Many journeys to freedom made in vain
By brothers on the corner playin ghetto games
I ask you lord why you enlightened me
Without the enlightment of all my folks
He said cuz I set myself on a quest for truth
And he was there to quench my thirst
But I am still thirsty
The lord allowed me to drink some more
He said what I am searchin for are
The answers to all which are in front of me
The ultimate truth started to get blurry
For some strange reason it had to be
It was all a dream about Tennessee
Take me to another place
Take me to another land
Make me forget all that hurts me
I was comin back from Tennessee
Longest road I ever seen
Part of me wanted to stay
Part of me just had to leave
Comin back from Tennessee
Six feet up from the grave
Who did you expect to see?
Not the person that I became.
It's ok, I can see
You're afraid, I can leave.
You could stay
But now I gotta be on my way.
[Chorus:]
All I ever wanted to do
I follow this dream til I made it come true
All I ever wanted to be
Was more than a lie that you still believed
And I leave Tennessee
And I leave Tennessee
Baby did you know I'm alive?
It ain't the resurrection of Christ
You know I tried to swallow my pain.
A lesson that I never survived.
It's ok, I can see
You can stay
Just get out of my fuckin' way
[Chorus:]
All I ever wanted to do
I follow this dream til I made it come true
All I ever wanted to be
Was more than a lie that you still believed
[Birdman:] (I see you Kevin)
And I leave Tennessee
(Birdman)
Yeah, Yeah
In the back of a Bentley, rockin Fendi's
She love me like I love my money
Tennessee colors, all black Hummer
Police know that we been bumpin'
Smoke in da air, no fear
Cash Money billionaires
Two mill a pair,
What we wear, stop and stare
10-a -key, Parrin Fleece
Suede seats, trunk speaks, O.G.
Title 40 got me leavin' Tennessee (believe dat)
[Chorus:]
All I ever wanted to do
I follow this dream til I made it come true
All I ever wanted to be
Was more than a lie that you still believed
Sweeter than the birds that go in the trees
That's what she meant to me
Sweeter than the wine and she looked so fine
When she met me in Tennessee
I felt so grand when she took my hand
And said, 'Come, go with me'
Held me tight on a moonlit night
Someplace in Tennessee
Sweeter than the birds that go in the trees
That's what she meant to me
Sweeter than the wine and she looked so fine
When I met her in Tennessee
I felt so grand when she took my hand
And said, 'Come, go with me'
Held me tight on a moonlit night
I barely remember the first time I met you
You didn't remember my name
The alcohol might have clouded your vision
To me its been doing the same
But I haven't forgotten the first time I saw you
At most on your way out of town
Everyone warned me don't get worked up over nothing
But nothing is all I've got now
You close your eyes and you don't hear me speaking
That's probably how it should be
Now I realize you were close to perfection
But I went and chose Tennessee
I tried in vain but I can't rediscover
The mirror that shows who I am
Reflecting on you in a warm night in summer
And all the things I couldn't have planned
You close your eyes and you don't hear me speaking
That's probably how it should be
Now I realize you were close to perfection
But I went and chose Tennessee
I never had all the answers
I never had enough time
But I sure had all the reasons
Why you weren't what I wanted to find
I never laid all my cards out
You just wanted to play
The king he waited on my doorsteps
While the joker and me went on our way
[Chorus]
Maybe I was much too selfish
But baby you're still on my mind
Now I'm grown and all alone
And wishing I was with you tonight
'Cause I can guarantee
Things are sweeter in Tennessee
These days everything is all business
Never in one place for too long
But there's no lack of arms around me
But I still wonder if somewhere I went wrong
[Chorus]
In Tennessee
And I'd wish on every star in the
Southern sky
For that man and our life
If I did not think that
[Chorus]
Yes, I guarantee
Things are sweeter in Tenneesee
We were young, met under the sun in Tennessee,
You found me, and I found you,
You took my heart if only for a day,
Before the road took me away
But I dont wanna drive home,
(I don't wanna drive home)
I just wanna stay a while
Cause no one knows me like you do,
Oh Tennessee she kept my heart with you,
When I'm on the east coast,
I'm hoping she's close and then,
God damn I hope I see her again
I wake to find she's on my mind again,
And I can't shake it out,
With her hips and her lips and the way we kiss,
And the one last touch I won't forget,
Just say you miss me cause I miss you,
And they're all talking 'bout us,
If they only knew
Cause no one knows me like you do,
Oh Tennessee she kept my heart with you,
When I'm on the east coast,
I'm hoping she's close and then,
God damn I hope I see her again
I'm starting to find that those days in Nashville changed my life,
And I'm gonna drive a million miles just to make you mine tonight
So I packed up,
Hit the road,
I said goodbye its time to go,
Darling I'll see you in the morning light
Cause no one knows me like you do,
Oh Tennessee she kept my heart with you,
When I'm on the east coast,
I'm hoping she's close and then,
Tennessee
You've been good to me
Yes, I've come to believe
You're where I want to be
You may not be what everybody needs
But Tennessee you're good enough for me
I can see
Stars shining in your night
Your daytime scenes like Cash and Patsy Cline
They may not be what everybody needs
But they touched my soul
And that's good enough for me
It's been ten years now and I'm rooted in your soil
I am rooted in your soil
Give me ten more years
I'll be rooted in your soil
Right here in your soil
You may not be what I will always need
But I call you home
If I can call you home
I left the West coast watched the palm trees wave goodbye
It was a hard drive had to say goodbye to you
I stopped for some Coca-Cola and some corn nuts too
I thought about turnin' back I already missed you
If you need me burn it up bend the rules leave right away
If you need me take a four lane headed my way
Take a bus, take a plane , take a car, take a train
Take a bike, hitch a ride you decide
If you need me you know where I'll be in Tennessee
Goin' through my boxes found a photograph
Where you're sittin' on a mule in Mexico
Picture perfect point of view
An then a postcard dropped from a book you gave me on my birthday
An it hit me, baby
If you need me burn it up bend the rules leave right away
If you need me take a four lane headed my way
Take a bus, take a plane, take a car, take a train
Take a bike, hitch a ride you decide
If you need me leave L.A. we'll take it day by day
All alone, here I am by the phone
Understand it's not too late what are you waiting' for?
If you need me you know where I'll be, yeah in Tennessee
Well, it's a Sunday mornin' I awake it's just another lonely day
I lie in bed and wonder how long is this gonna take
Then I think to myself will I ever get a break?
Did I make a big mistake?
Well, I light the fire, I draw the bubble bath
Hey, you do the math
It's just me an I'm without you
What else could I do
If you need me burn it up bend the rules leave right away
If you need me take a four lane headed my way
Take a bus, take plane, take a car, take a train
Take a bike, hitch a ride you decide
You Have Heard And Read About The State Of Tennessee
down In The Southern States Is Where I Want To Be
where The Valleys Are So Green And The Mountains Are So
Tall
you Will Know Just What I Mean When You Hear Them Say
"y'all"
tennessee (Tennessee)
i Hear You Calling Me (I Hear You Calling Me)
the Home Of Davey Crockett In The Hills Of Tennessee.
when I Was A Little Boy Around The Folks Back Home
my Mother Always Said To Me Jimmy, Please Don't Roam
now That I Have Gone Away My Heart Is Full Of Woe
when I Think Of Mom And Dad That's Where I Want To Go
if Ever I Get Back To That State Of Tennessee
i Tell You There'll Be No More Roaming For Me
there Lives A Sweetheart Who Said She'd Marry Me
I never had all the answers
I never had enough time
But I sure had all the reasons
Why you weren't what I wanted to find
I never laid all my cards out
You just wanted to play
The king he waited on my doorstep
While the joker and me went on our way
Maybe I was much too selfish
But baby you're still on my mind
Now I'm grown and all alone
And wishing I was with you tonight
'Cause I can guarantee
Things are sweeter in Tennessee
These days everything is all business
Never in a place for too long
And there's no lack of arms around me
But I still wonder if somewhere I went wrong
And I'd wish on every star in the
Southern sky
For that man and our life
If I did not think that
Yes, I guarantee
I saw the river playing in the valley
Rushin' 'round the bend and skippin' stones
I saw the meadow wobble in the moonlight
I've come to get my girl and take her home
Her doorbell plays a bar of Stephen Foster
Her sister never left and look what it cost her
We're gonna live in Nashville and I'll make a career
out of writing sad songs and gettin' paid by the tear
Marry me and leave Kentucky, come to Tennessee
Cause you're the only ten I see
You're the only ten I see
I've looked through offices and honky tonks for a man man enough to be
Mr. and Mrs. Tennessee
Mr. and Mrs. Tennessee
Punk rock died when the first kid said
"Punk's not dead, punk's not dead"
You know Louisville is death
We've got to up and move
because the dead do not improve
Goodbye users & suckers & steady badluckers
We're off to the land of club soda unbridled
We're off to the land of hot middle-aged women
Off to the land whose blood runneth orange
Marry me and leave Kentucky, come to Tennessee
Cause you're the only ten I see
You're the only ten I see
I've looked through offices and honky tonks for a man man enough to be
Mr. and Mrs. Tennessee
Howdy
I’m gonna tell you a story
Most of it is true
It goes back to my early memory
And maybe it will show you
Why I do the things I do
I was born in New York City
But my mom’s from Tennessee
Tennessee…
A little town called Newport
Where the folks don’t grow too tall
And they don’t grow too short
It’s a place of moderation, common sense, and decency
Well it’s nothing like the way I am
But it’s how I’m gonna be
Oh, but on a serious note
I believe I left my cell phone in my coat
They are riding in a taxi down to 7th Street and D
And that’s a long way from Newport, Tennessee
Howdy again
To continue my story
On my educational road to glory
I was kicked out of a school, or two, or maybe it was
three
I got mostly incompletes, but in math I bought a C
I bought a C…
And then I rambled around
Drove my car from Slumberville to Lonesome Town
Joined a band, but it didn’t go
So I booked some time on Nashville’s Music Row
Hush now
Everybody get low down
I don’t want no electric guitars in the background
I’m trying to concentrate on how you find serenity
When you’re born in New York City,
But your mom’s from Tennessee
And I got issues
Hell, I got pain
There’s a lot I can’t remember
Even more I can’t explain
No it don’t make much sense to me
Still I’m proud my mama comes from Tennessee
