I was just fifteen and outta control Lost to James Dean and rock and roll I knew down deep in my country soul That I had to get away Hollywood was a lady in red Who danced in my dreams As I tossed in bed I knew I'd wind up In jail or dead If I had to stay I thought happiness Was Lubbock, Texas In my rear view mirror My momma kept calling me home But I just did not want to hear her And the vision was getting clearer In my dreams So I laid out one night in June Stoned on the glow of the Texas moon Humming an old Buddy Holly tune Called Peggy Sue With my favorite jeans And a cheap guitar I ran off chasing a distant star If Buddy Holly could make it that far I figured I could too And I thought happiness Was Lubbock, Texas In my rear view mirror My momma kept calling me home But I just did not want to hear her And the vision was getting clearer In my dreams But the Hollywood moon didn't Smile the same old smile That I'd grown up with The lady in red Just wanted my last dime And I cried myself to sleep at night Too dumb to run, too scared to fight And too proud to admit it at the time So I got me some gigs on Saturday nights Not much more than orchestrated fights I'd come home drunk and I'd try to write But the words came out wrong Hell bent and bound for a wasted youth Too much gin and not enough vermouth And no one to teach me How to seek the truth Before I put it into song I still thought happiness Was Lubbock, Texas In my rear view mirror My momma kept calling me home But I just could not, would not hear her And the vision was getting clearer In my dreams Well, I thank God each and every day For giving me the music and words to say I'd-a never made it any other way He was my only friend Now I sleep a little better at night When I look in the mirror In the morning light The man I see was both wrong and right He's going home again I guess happiness was Lubbock, Texas In my rear view mirror But now happiness is Lubbock, Texas Growing nearer and dearer And the vision is getting clearer In my dreams And I think I finally know Just what it means And when I die you can bury me In Lubbock, Texas, in my jeans