Crimson and Clay

I had it with me everywhere I've been
Red clay under my nails, deep crimson on my skin
You could strip me of everything I own
And just leave me with the memories of my Alabama home

I guess the highway didn't kill me after all
But I thought I was a goner in that trailer fire in Arkansas
But I just let her burn and walked away
And crawled back to the crimson and the clay

I got a little bolt action for my ninth birthday
And I can flip a silver dollar from a hundred yards away
1911 under my floor mat
Then one day it just occurred to me, I got no use for that

Guess the city didn't kill me after all
The thing that nearly took me out was loneliness and alcohol
And I just put it down and walked away
And crawled back to the crimson and the clay

See the moon in the morning, I anticipate the night
Licked the spoon in the kitchen, we prayed to Martha White
Little noose in a locker, brown eyes crying in the hall
Rebel flags on the highway, wooden crosses on the wall

Guess the small town didn't suit me after all
There's still so many lonely kids surrounded by the rest of y'all
And I can't seem to keep myself away
So I head back to the crimson and the clay