[Verse 1] Mud on my boots, dawn in the field Fence line silver, old paint peeled Corn rows bent where the wind been hard I was just a kid with a borrowed yard Mama said, look up when you hear that cry Some things come close, some only fly I had a red streak burn through gray And I lost my breath right there in the hay [Pre-Chorus] High on the wire, then gone from sight Like a promise cut loose in the light I kept scanning that open sky For that fierce red flame passing by [Chorus] Red tailed hawk, come back around Red tailed hawk, over this ground I been looking, I been looking all day Red tailed hawk, show me the way (Show me the way) Red tailed hawk, cut that blue Red tailed hawk, I’m chasing you (Chasing you) Right where the cedar shadows stop That’s where I found the red tailed hawk [Verse 2] Past the barn and the split-rail bend Where the creek goes cold at the county end Saw a feather stuck in a barbed-wire curl Like a red-hot sign in a broke-down world Then there he sat on a post by the pond Still as prayer, then he was gone One quick beat and the whole thing changed Left me standing there rearranged [Pre-Chorus] High on the wire, then gone from sight Like a promise cut loose in the light I kept scanning that open sky For that fierce red flame passing by [Chorus] Red tailed hawk, come back around Red tailed hawk, over this ground I been looking, I been looking all day Red tailed hawk, show me the way (Show me the way) Red tailed hawk, cut that blue Red tailed hawk, I’m chasing you (Chasing you) Right where the cedar shadows stop That’s where I found the red tailed hawk [Bridge] Now when I’m lost in a hard-bent season When the road gets mean for no good reason I lift my eyes where the cold wind talks And I trust that red line crossing [Chorus] Red tailed hawk, come back around Red tailed hawk, over this ground I been looking, I been looking all day Red tailed hawk, show me the way (Show me the way) Red tailed hawk, cut that blue Red tailed hawk, I’m chasing you (Chasing you) Right where the cedar shadows stop That’s where I found the red tailed hawk
