[Intro] There’s a house at the end of Miller Road Where the kudzu climbs the walls Been empty since my mama died Or so the county says she was [Verse 1] I hadn't seen that crooked porch Since I was seventeen But every board still knew my name Every window knew my dreams The old oak stood beside the well Just like it always had And through the kitchen window I could see a woman standing there She wore that faded blue dress Mama wore on Sunday mornings Her silver hair was pinned up high Just like before I left I thought my eyes were playing tricks I thought the years had lied Then she turned and smiled at me And whispered, “Come inside.” [Verse 2] I should've run that moment I should've hit the county line But there are things a child remembers That can make a grown man blind She poured me coffee at the table In my old bedroom chair And every little thing was waiting Like I'd never disappeared The clock above the fireplace Had stopped at half past two Mama asked me why I'd never called I said, “Mama, you know the truth.” She smiled and shook her head And said, “You always were afraid You left me here alone that night And never came back again.” [Pre-Chorus] Then the floorboards started creaking Though nobody crossed the hall And I heard a little boy crying From behind the bedroom wall [Chorus] Mama's house, Mama's house Ain't a place you ought to stay Mama's house remembers everything You thought you threw away Mama's house, Mama's house Locks the doors when daylight dies And Mama's been waiting twenty years With forgiveness in her eyes [Verse 3] I found the bedroom door was open Though I'd watched it close before Inside were boxes full of photographs And bloodstains on the floor I saw myself at twelve years old Standing beside my bed Then I saw another picture Of Mama lying dead I remembered then the argument The shouting and the rain I remembered leaving angry And never coming back again But there was something missing From the memory I'd kept: I hadn't just abandoned her I'd left her there to die alone [Chorus] Mama's house, Mama's house Ain't a place you ought to stay Mama's house remembers everything You thought you threw away Mama's house, Mama's house Now the walls begin to breathe And Mama says, “My baby boy, You finally came back home to me.” [Bridge] I ran outside The porch was gone The road was gone The moon was wrong No headlights No telephone Just Mama standing in the doorway Saying, “Son, you don't have to be alone.” I looked down at my hands And they weren't my hands anymore They were small again Like the hands I had before Then Mama took my shoulder And I heard the front door close [Final Chorus] Mama's house, Mama's house Ain't a house you can escape It waits for every runaway Who leaves too much behind Mama's house, Mama's house Where the lost ones disappear And if you hear your mama calling Don't you answer from the road [Outro] They say the house burned down Sometime around half past two But sometimes folks driving Miller Road See lights shining through And sometimes there's a little boy Standing by the window there Waiting for his mama To come home And comb his hair
