Oh Lord if I could just go home I'd do things different from now on There wouldn't be near the gray in my old daddy's hair Oh Lord if I could just go home I know it wasn't daddy's fault that mama died when I was just a kid And the best that he could do to raise me right was all he ever did And I know he'd love mama a lot longer than I had and he was every bit as alone But I don't guess I'd helped too much to build a happy home He made sure I got to church every Sunday the way mama had always done And he was always sorry he had to work so hard and he never had much time for fun He knew I missed mama a lot And maybe he was easier on me than he should have been But it sure ain't his fault that I didn't turn out to be much a man
Well I've grew on into my teens and I guess I thought I was a real hard stuff Goin' into town hangin' around bars and actin' pretty tough Well I'm looking out at a different set of bars now And that little window don't let it much light You see I got roarin' drinkin' mad one night and I k**ed the man in a fight I got a letter from back home the other day Saying dad had a stroke and he ain't doin' too good Well if I had done right I'd be there now to help him and God you know I would And I'd pay him back for all the years of love that he gave me And I'd be a better man the way I was taught to be Oh Lord if I could just go home