[Verse 1]
All the stereo types, Friday night lights, I hate to say they're true
All the football games and the drama queens with nothin' better to do
I swore I wouldn't miss that
I said I'd never come back here
Had the U-Haul packed before I walked the stage at graduation
I was ready to fly over the red lights that kept me waitin'
From the second they turned green
I got out and gone for three years

[Pre-Chorus]
It's amazing what a little time and space
Can do to a place

[Chorus]
When I drive down these roads, I see you and me at sixteen
When I never coulda known comin' back would be so sweet
Every chance I get, I wanna go now
Every memory makes me wanna slow down
You make it hard to hate this hometown

[Verse 2]
That nothin'-goin'-on corner store and that lakeview parkin' lot
Your parents' old red brick house, they moved out, but it's still got
A whole lot of you and me
And, baby, that's all I see now
[Pre-Chorus]
It's amazin' what fallin' in love'll do
To a place you thought you knew

[Chorus]
When I drive down these roads, I see you and me at sixteen
When I never coulda known comin' back would be so sweet
Every chance I get, I wanna go now
Every memory makes me wanna slow down
You make it hard to hate this hometown
You make it hard to hate this hometown
You make it hard to hate this hometown

[Chorus]
When I drive down these roads, yeah, I almost wanna stay
Oh, I never coulda known how my feelings could change
Every chance that I get, I wanna go now
Every memory makes me wanna slow down
You make it hard to hate this hometown
You make it hard to hate this hometown

[Outro]
Mm