It was just as I was leaving
Throw some change up on the bar
She caught my eye through the swinging door
She was standing out by my car
I said I thought you moved to the city girl
No one never did find the time I’ve been wasting away, at my sister’s place
Just North of the county line

Well I gazed out across the gravel line
To the road that leads to town
Thinking all the ways that I broke your heart
Yeah, thinking how it all went down

And I’m saying it’s a strange thing to see you now
I’ve been running so long on the same old ground
Gonna rattle these chains till the morning light
If I ever loved once, you know
I never loved right by you

So we go up to the turn-pipe
Where the whole world turns to sky
I took her hand, but she drew away
Like a bird getting ready to fly
She said I ain’t so young, and I met someone
He’s a rock that just won’t roll
And I gotta find out, if I only love once
Or does love keep coming to call

Cause it’s a strange thing to see you now
I’ve been running so long on the same old ground
Gonna rattle these chains till the morning light
If I ever loved once, you know
I never loved right by you

There’s a half built house in the potter’s field
All the timbers are turned to gray
There’s an old brown dog living on the porch
I seen them just the other day
Well I laid those planks, and I drove those nails
But it never did satisfy him
And a man must forfeit all he owns
For a glimpse at the reason why

It’s a strange thing to see you now
I’ve been running so long on the same old ground
Gonna rattle these chains till the morning light
If I ever loved once, you know
I never loved right

It’s a strange thing to see you here
If the world don’t mine, yeah you better leave the keys
Gonna rattle these chains till the morning light
If I ever loved once, you know
I never loved right
If the world’s going blind, yeah you better lend an ear