One More Time [Zeb Thorne (1)]

[Instrumental Intro — slow electric guitar with reverb, distant pedal steel, a lonesome open feel] Verse 1 I left Amarillo with the wind at my back Ten years since I saw her Still followin’ that old track She was seventeen in Lubbock When I let her down Now I'm older. . . too late wiser Drivin’ through each dry-dust town. [Pre-Chorus 1] Texas is too big For a man to lose himself in slow But it's just the right size For a heart that won't let go [Chorus 1] So, I'm rollin’ through the Panhandle Down to the Piney Woods Asking every stranger If they know her. . . like I should One more time, that's all I'm asking One more time to make it right I've got nothing but this highway And the promise I broke that night [Verse 2] Someone said, “She's down in San Antone.” Another said, “ No, back in Amarillo again.” And one said, “I heard She’s married now To a better kind of man.” I don't blame her for the leaving I was young and full of pride Now I'm just a voice on the radio And it likely makes her cry [Pre-Chorus 2] There's a hundred thousand square miles Between the woman that I lost And every mile's a mirror To show me the hard cost [Chorus 2] So, I'm rolling through the Panhandle Down to the Piney Woods Askin’ every stranger If they know her. . . like I should. One more time, that's all I'm asking one more time to make it right I've got nothing but this highway And the promise I broke that night. [Bridge] It might be she don't want The man that I've become Maybe some bridges stay burned Once the crossin’s done But I'll drive on till the gas Or the day’s light run out Cause this man yearns to know What forgiveness is about [Verse 3] Finally found her in Nacogdoches Standing on a porch at dusk She looked at me like a wronged soul Looks at something she don't trust I said, “I'm sorry. That’s the only thing I came here for to say.” No, she didn't smile But she didn't turn away [Chorus 3 So maybe it's the Panhandle, Maybe the Piney Woods Maybe a man can't always fix The things he knows he should But one more time, I have to ask it, one more time to make it right And whatever she decides I'll carry it tonight. [Outro — sung, sparse] Texas is too big For a man to lose himself in slow But it's just the right size For a heart that won't let go [instrumental Outro — pedal steel and electric guitar fade together, one last low note held into silence]