WICKED MILE

Intro From the church steps to the county line It's barely one damn mile First door is Benny's pawn shop Same cracked shotgun in the glass Next is where I sold my wedding ring The week I lost my ass Neon buzz above the liquor store Blue motel sign beyond Every hundred yards remembers Something I thought was gone One wicked mile That's all it takes To walk through ten old versions Of your worst mistakes One wicked mile From saved to gone Funny how the shortest roads Can take the longest getting on There's a booth inside the Lucky Seven Where I learned she'd found someone There's a dent outside the pool hall From the night I didn't run Old Joe still sweeps the barber shop He looked up, knew my face Didn't wave and didn't have to Some towns remember everything Halfway down, the courthouse clock Was blinking twelve-oh-three Across the street, a younger man Was looking just like me Same cheap boots Same angry jaw Same hunger to be known I almost crossed the road to warn him Then remembered— I wouldn't have listened either So I kept walking. Past the window where I fought Past the alley where I slept Past the woman I still think about And promises I never kept Past the bar that knew my paycheck Before my children ever did Past every place I blamed this town For things that I had picked One wicked mile And there it was— The highway running clean No neon No witnesses No man I used to be One wicked mile Behind my back One white line ahead And for the first time in my life I didn't turn my head

Outro

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