The Long Road Home

[Verse 1] Snow's been falling since the county line, Radio's playing something old and kind. There's a suitcase full of nothing much, But I saved the last mile just to feel your touch. [Pre-Chorus] The windshield fogs, I wipe it clear, Every mile's a little less of a year. [Chorus] Fifty more, then forty, then the porch light's glow, Mama's got the kettle on, I can taste the cocoa. Let the winter do its worst out on the road, 'Cause I'm almost, almost, almost home. [Verse 2] I've been away too long to count, Chasing dollars in a colder town. But there's a chair they never let nobody take, And a plate she sets for old times' sake. [Pre-Chorus] The dashboard clock says quarter past, Lord, let this last stretch not go too fast. [Chorus] Fifty more, then forty, then the porch light's glow, Papa's on the front step, brushing off the snow. Let the winter do its worst out on the road, 'Cause I'm almost, almost, almost home. [Bridge] I thought the miles would make me hard and small, But there's her handwriting on the mailbox after all. And I ain't the boy who left here in the spring — Still, one look through that window, and I'm everything. [Chorus] Ten more now, then five now, then the porch light's glow, Kitchen window's steaming and the whole house glows. Let the winter do its worst out on the road, 'Cause I'm home now, home now, finally home. [Outro] Turn the engine off, let the quiet fall, Merry Christmas, everybody — I made it after all.