Daddy sits on the front porch swingin',
lookin' out on a vacant field
It used to be filled with burly tobacco now he knows it never will
My brother found work in Indiana,
my sister's a nurse at the old folks home

Momma's still cookin' 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 comin' back again

Delia plays that old 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 heard 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 be the big deal
Playin' down on Broadway, gettin' there the hard way
Livin' from a tip jar, sleepin' in my car
Hockin' my guitar, yeah I'm gonna be a star

Now me and Delia singin' every Sunday, watchin' 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 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 comin' back..
I said a long time gone, no I ain't honked a horn since I don't know when

Long time gone and it ain't comin' back again

I said a long time, long time, long time gone, oh 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