Just Taking the Back Roads

Intro
(Slow acoustic guitar strumming, gentle pedal steel swell, light kick drum tap)
​[Verse 1]
Left the quiet corners of Bronson town
Watching dust settle as the sun settles down
Windows rolled halfway, catching the pine-scented breeze
Shadows stretching soft through the tall oak trees
Two-lane blacktop humming a steady rhythm and rhyme
Out here in Sabine County, ain't nobody rushing time
​[Chorus]
Just taking the backroads, letting the miles roll slow
From Hemphill up to Center, nowhere else I’d rather go
Sunlight dancing through the windshield glass
Watching the world and the piney woods pass
Easy on the steering wheel, easy on the mind
Leaving every heavy worry far behind
​[Verse 2]
Passing old tin roofs gleaming bright in the heat
Cattle grazing calm by the fence line so sweet
Spotted a faded red barn sitting by the bend
Wave a hand to a stranger like an old time friend
Hemphill’s in the rearview, road is smooth and wide
Nothing on the radio but a sweet country glide
​[Chorus]
Just taking the backroads, letting the miles roll slow
From Hemphill up to Center, nowhere else I’d rather go
Sunlight dancing through the windshield glass
Watching the world and the piney woods pass
Easy on the steering wheel, easy on the mind
Leaving every heavy worry far behind
​[Instrumental Break]
(Warm pedal steel lead melody trading off with a gentle acoustic guitar solo)
​[Bridge]
Rolling into Center as the afternoon goes pale
Town square standing steady, telling its own tale
Ain't no place to rush to, no reason to contend
Just a simple drive through East Texas at the evening’s end
​[Chorus]
Just taking the backroads, letting the miles roll slow
From Hemphill up to Center, nowhere else I’d rather go
Sunlight dancing through the windshield glass
Watching the world and the piney woods pass
Easy on the steering wheel, easy on the mind
Leaving every heavy worry far behind
​[Outro]
Yeah, leaving every worry far behind...
Just Bronson to Hemphill, Hemphill to Center...
Pines swaying soft in the rearview...
(Fiddle softly fades out with final acoustic guitar strum)