[Spoken intro]
Like a sweet rippling mountain stream
Goes the sound of the banjo on Cripple Creek
Never beginning never ending just rippling on and on
So does the land just ripple on and on
As a heart gets soft on a woman
So can the heart get soft on the land
And to fall in love with a woman as well as the land
Is to surely be in love

[Verse 1]
I stayed away too long I know
And every day was slow to go
Every night I dreamed I was here
It's been a mighty lonely year
Every mile I needed you
I kinda hope that you needed me too
Everywhere I saw your face
Around every town I was in
This old familiar place
Welcomed me again
Back to where I belonged to be
Back to you and Tennessee
Back to you and Tennessee

[Verse 2]
Beside the Cumberland River
Where the grass is soft and sweet
We ran across the fields of cedar
Hiding from the noisy streets
And when the leaves fell from the cold
The stars were silver, the moon was gold
I said "it's yours, with love from me
I'm planting my roots in this ground
And if they look for me I'll be found
With something that is part of me
You and Tennessee
Back with you and Tennessee