I remember waking in the morning   To the sound of the rooster's crow   Mamma cooking in the kitchen   Arthur Godfrey on the radio      Me and Dad were just like strangers   We never did see eye to eye   Came to blows one Sunday morning   So I packed my bags and I said goodbye      CHORUS   When you leave that way you can never go back   A train won't run on a torn up track   Sometimes I wish I'd never roamed,oh no   'Cause when you leave that way you can never go home      Then I met a girl in Knoxville   Oh, we set our wedding day   I left her standing at the alter   With a baby on the way      REPEAT CHORUS      Lord I'd love to see my mom and daddy   And what I'd give to hold that boy of mine   I'd get down on my knees and I'd say I'm sorry   If I could only go back one more time      But I killed a man in Houston   When he caught me with his wife   And I told the preacher man to leave me alone   When he came to read my rights      CHORUS      He said son,when you leave this way you can never come back   A soul won't roll on a torn up track   All through eternity you'll roam alone   'Cause when you leave this way you can never come home   All through eternity you'll roam alone   'Cause when you leave this way you can never come home