[intro] [fingerpicked acoustic ostinato, muted guitar lick, brushed snare enters] [verse 1] [deep fast vibrato on held notes] I was born in a holler where the laurel grows wild Barefoot and hungry and my mama's dreamin' child I took my daddy's shoes and I took my grandma's song And I carried 'em to Nashville, and I carried 'em so long [chorus] [double tracked harmony, quivering sustained vowels, pedal steel swell] So long, so long, so long, so long I'm askin' you to carry on the song So long, so long, so long, so long The mountain's gonna hold me where I belong [verse two] [single vocal, harmony drops out, trembling long tones] Now don't you cry for me, sugar, I ain't lost, I'm just ahead I left the porch light burnin' and the supper table set I gave you every rhinestone, I gave you every sin Just crack a little window, let the mornin' come on in [chorus 2] [tighter harmony, steel higher, vibrato widening] So long, so long, so long, so long I'm askin' you to carry on the song So long, so long, so long, so long The mountain's gonna hold me where I belong [bridge] [strings out, guitar and voice only, heavy vibrato on every line end] Every wig and every whisper, every note I ever sold Was a poor girl's way of shinin' up the cold Now the butterflies are liftin' and the strings are runnin' free Don't lay no marble on me, plant a dogwood tree [instrumental break] [muted electric guitar lick trades with pedal steel, acoustic keeps ostinato] [verse 3] [softer, closer mic, vibrato still fast but quieter] When that guitar comes rollin' like a river through the pines That's just me out runnin' down the last of my lines I ain't goin' nowhere that a chorus cannot reach I'll be sittin' in the second row and singin' every piece [final refrain] [full harmony, crescendo, widest vibrato of the song] So long, so long, so long, so long I'm askin' you to carry on the song So long, so long, so long, so long The mountain's gonna hold me where I belong [outro] [voice alone on last line, long trembling note, guitar rings out, no fade] So long, so long
