Back in the old days This music we call Country Flowed out of the mountains In the land of the Shawnee Appalachian springs From Virginia and Kentucky Rolling down the Cumberland To the Ohio Valley And a wind rose in the western sky Above the wide prairie Where wild horses thundered Driven by the Comanche And it blew across the southern plains Down to the Mississippi Talking about Texas And Tennessee And the Carter Family came To sing The Wandering Boy Maybelle played her guitar Like they'd never heard before And Jimmie Rodgers yodeled As blue as he could be T for Texas And Tennessee Country people tuned in On their AM radios When Earnest Tubb and Acuff Played the evening music shows They lined up at The Opry To hear Hank Williams sing And cowboys filled the dancehalls When the Playboys came to swing Kitty Wells and Roger Miller Patsy Cline and ol' Jim Reeves They came from Texas And Tennessee Things will keep a-changing But the spirit will live on The truth it will be spoken In a simple country song Kristofferson and Johnny Cash Ol' Waylon and Willie Spirit of Texas And Tennessee And Guy and Townes and Emmylou Steve Earle and Robert Keen Talkin' about Texas And Tennessee And how 'bout ol' Ward Davis Cody Jinks, Sunny Sweeney Spirit of Texas And Tennessee A song for Texas And Tennessee

504 black girl carried me In her womb to the land of the peach Her birthing pains brought me low But she held me high on Peachtree road Got my mother's eyes and my father's nose Also got brother's hand-me-down clothes We had no green but the love was strong It was all we'd need to get us along, get us along Left ATL for the Texas way We drove 20 East in my daddy's '88 I learned in school I didn't measure up I fell short of what true blackness was Mama taught the righteous way I set down that path but went astray Paid for love on a crescent moon In that Oklahoma motel room Kyree taught me chords to strum They got me through when I felt numb 504 black girl 504 black girl carried me 504 black girl, black girl 504 black girl carried me 504 black girl carried me 504 black girl carried me

You came down as if from heaven Laid a soft hand on me I kept on walking and thinking Where my life's gone I should weep Well I don't know where I've been going I've never known the reason why So listen to me I'm scared to cry The angel sat down at my table I told her all my doubts and pain She said there always is a time for love That it will come to me again But I don't know where I've been going I've never known the reason why So listen to me I'm scared to cry Well I don't know where I've been going I've never known the reason why So listen to me I'm scared to cry Yeh listen to me I'm scared to cry Without me you would be nowhere All alone I've cared You owe it all to me