i'm coming from a long line of pain
my family suffered greatly for my gain
and i think a lot about
how my daddy died
so i would not live with it

and his heart lives in my song
and the melody comes
and just as quickly the melody is gone
i'm back alone, far from home

now my mamma's all alone
i try to call her and see her when i'm home
and after all that she's been through
oh the doctor say: "there ain't nothing we can do"

and her heart lives in my song
and the melody comes
and just as quickly the melody is gone
i'm back alone, far from home

there's a bird outside my window
who takes the song where he goes
and leaves it there
like a dead man's rocking chair

and tonight i'm feeling lost and
headin' down the highway out to boston
i get the sense i might lose it
i thank god tonight for the luck i got in music

'cause my heart lives in this song
but the melody comes
and just as quickly, the melody is gone
i'm back alone, far from home