[Intro: Female, sultry Southern drawl] Come on in, sugar, wipe your boots There’s a little red dirt on the truth [Verse 1: Female] Mama kept a jar of rain beside the kitchen door You said you’d bring the summer back, then left me wanting more Your pocket held a county map, your eyes held something wild I watched you smile across the room like you had met a child [Pre-Chorus: Female] You said, “Don’t you worry, darlin’, I know the way back home” But every mile you promised me made the house feel less my own [Chorus: Male lead, female responses, gospel harmonies] Run that road, run it slow Where the red clay takes you, I don’t know Hold my name like a loaded prayer You can leave this town, but I’ll still be there Oh, I’ll still be there [Verse 2: Male, deep and smooth] I wore my Sunday jacket through the county fair at dusk Won a cheap gold pocket watch and wound it up with trust The preacher said forgive me; I said, “Brother, I have tried” Then heard your little laugh come rolling from the other side [Pre-Chorus: Female] You said, “Don’t you worry, darlin’, I know the way back home” But your shadow hit the doorway before your boots had shown [Chorus: Male lead, female responses, gospel harmonies] Run that road, run it slow Where the red clay takes you, I don’t know Hold my name like a loaded prayer You can leave this town, but I’ll still be there Oh, I’ll still be there [Bridge: Female, hushed; male answers] The supper’s cold, the clock won’t turn The porch swing rocks; the curtains burn You: “Baby, look, I made it home” Me: “Then tell me why you’re made of stone?” [Final Chorus: Both, powerful choir] Run that road, run it slow Where the red clay takes you, I don’t know Hold my name like a loaded prayer You can leave this town, but I’ll still be there I’ll still be there— [Twist: Female, intimate whisper] You never left. I buried you beneath the old porch steps. [Outro: Male, distant; female harmony] Run that road… run it slow…
