Daddy sits on a front porch swinging
Looking out on a vacant field
Used to be filled with burley t'bacca
Now he knows it never willMy brother's found work in Indiana
Sister's a nurse at the old folks home
Mama still cooking too much for supper
And me Ive been a long time goneBeen 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 againDeliah plays that ol' church pian'a
Sitting out on her daddy's farm
She always thought that we'd be together
Lord I never meant to do her harmSaid 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 goneBeen 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 againNow 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 Im gonna be a starNow, me and Deliah 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 soulNow 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 thinkThe rest is a long time gone
No, I ain't hit the roof
Since I dont know when long time gone
And it ain't coming backI said a long time gone
No, I ain't honked the horn
Since I dont know when long time gone
And it ain't coming back againI said a long time, long time, long time gone
Well its 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