Daddy sits on the front porch swinging
Looking out on a vacant field
Used to be filled with burley t'bacca
Now he knows it never will

My brother found work in Indiana
Sister's a nurse at the old folks home
Mama's still cooking too much for supper
And me, I've been a long time gone

Been a long time gone
No, I ain't hoed a row since I don't know when
Long time gone, and it ain't coming back again

Delia plays that ol' church piano
Sittin' out on her daddy's farm
She always thought that we'd be together
Lord, I never meant to do her harm

Said she could hear me singin' in the choir
Me, I heard another song
I caught wind and hit the road runnin'
And Lord, I've been a long time gone

Been a long time gone
Lord, I ain't had a prayer since I don't know when
Long time gone, and it ain't comin' back again

Now me, I went to Nashville
Tryin' to beat the big deal
Playin' down on Broadway
Gettin' there the hard way
Living from a tip jar
Sleeping in my car
Hocking my guitar
Yeah, I'm gonna be a star

Now, me and Delia singing every Sunday
Watching the children and the garden grow
We listen to the radio to hear what's cookin'
But the music ain't got no soul

Now they sound tired but they don't sound Haggard
They've got money but they don't have Cash
They got Junior but they don't have Hank
I think, I think, I think, the rest is
A long time gone

No, I ain't hit the roof since I don't know when
Long time gone, and it ain't coming back

I said a long time gone
No, I ain't honked the horn since I don't know when
Long time gone, and it ain't coming back again

I said a long time, long time, long time gone
Well, it's been a long time

Long time, long time, long time gone
Oh, it's been a long time gone

Long time, long time, long time gone
Yeah, yeah

Copyright: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Writer(s): Darrell Scott