[Verse 1: Outlaw-country male lead, low and mean over heavy live drums and a twangy baritone guitar riff] Hoss, I hear you hollerin' 'bout the way it used to be When a song came on a record and the record wasn't free When the singer had a callus and the drummer had a cough And the only real music was the music you turned off You keep starin' in the rearview while I'm starin' at the road You keep tellin' me it's easy, but you never pulled a load Every time a new one plays, you turn around to grieve Like the town behind you burnin' was the only town to leave Lord have mercy, keep on lookin', 'cause I know how that one ends You go white from boot to hat brim, and the rain don't make amends [Hook: Outlaw-country male lead, full band, heavy drums, baritone guitar between the lines] Keep on lookin' back, and you'll be standin' there for good White and bitter at the county line, right where you stood You ain't a pillar of the music, you ain't holdin' up the hall You're a pillar of salt, boy, and the cows come by to call [Verse 2: Outlaw-country male lead, meaner, baritone guitar stabs between the lines] Now the crows sit on your shoulders, and the kids dare touch your nose And the rain takes off a little every single time it goes Every storm that crosses Texas takes another inch of you While the song you swore was counterfeit is playin' all night through I'm a thousand miles of blacktop with the diesel in my veins You're a lump beside the highway gettin' smaller when it rains You said "back in my day," hoss, well, your day is all you got And it's standin' in a cow field gettin' licked down to a knot [Hook: Outlaw-country male lead, full band, heavy drums, baritone guitar between the lines] Keep on lookin' back, and you'll be standin' there for good White and bitter at the county line, right where you stood You ain't a pillar of the music, you ain't holdin' up the hall You're a pillar of salt, boy, and the cows come by to call [Verse 3: Outlaw-country male lead, train-beat charge, a freight-train snare drives every bar, then the full band lands on the last line] They put a plaque down by your boots that says "He Liked It Better Then" Folks read it, shake their heads, and climb back in the truck again I been round this county forty times, I honk at you each lap You're still facin' toward a town that isn't even on the map Lord have mercy, here's the gospel, and I'll say it plain and true I take every word you say, boy, with a little grain of you So holler at the county line and see who hollers back Just the cattle and the crows, hoss, and a freight train down the track [Final Hook: Outlaw-country male lead, full band, heavy drums, baritone guitar between the lines] Keep on lookin' back, and you'll be standin' there for good White and bitter at the county line, right where you stood You ain't a pillar of the music, you ain't holdin' up the hall You're a pillar of salt, boy, and the cows come by to call [End]
