If I could go down now
While the whole town is sleeping
See the sun creeping up
On the hill yeah
I know the river and the railroad
Would run through the valley still

I guess it never was much to look at
Just a one-horse town
The kind of place young people
Want to leave today
Store fronts pretty much boarded up
Main Street pretty much closed down

Oh the church bell still rings on Sunday
Old folks still go
The young ones listen on the radio
Saturday night
Nothing but a stray dog
Running wild like nobody's child

And little by little, light after light, that's how it died
They say you never go home again, that's no lie
Its like a letter in the mail to a brother in jail
It's a matter of time
Until you can do a little bit better time
Doesn't it good to believe sometimes?

It used to be part of the heartland
Awful proud and strong
But deep, deep down
Peaceful and serene
When people used to talk about the country
That's what they used to mean

I might go down come the weekend
Go on my own
Drop off Annie and the baby
Maybe drive alone
Pay my last respects to a time
That has all but gone

We said, Mama come look at the mountain
The fire in the sky
It's lit up like the Fourth of July
The mill burning down
The jobs leaving town
The trains rolling by

And little by little, light after light, that's how it died
They say you never go home again, now that's no lie
Its like a letter in the mail to a brother in jail
It's a matter of time
Until you can do a little bit better time no no no