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 9th birthday

I can flip a silver dollar from a hundred yards away

A 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.