Its knowin that your door is always open And your path is free to walk That makes me tend to leave my sleepin bag Rolled up and stashed behind your couch And its knowin Im not shackled By forgotten words and bonds And the ink stains that are dried upon some line That keeps you in the backroads By the rivers of my memory It keeps you ever gentle on my mind Its not clingin to the rocks and ivy Planted on their columns now that bind me Or something that somebody said Because they thought we fit together walkin Its just knowing that the world will not be cursing Or forgiving when I walk along some railroad track and find That youre movin on the backroads By the rivers of my memory And for hours youre just gentle on my mind Though the wheat fields and the clotheslines And the junkyards and the highways come between us And some other womans cryin to her mother Cause she turned, and I was gone You might also likeI still might run in silence, tears of joy might stain my face And the summer sun might burn me til Im blind But not to where I cannot see you walkin on the backroads By the rivers flowing gentle on my mind I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin Cracklin caldron in some train yard My beard a roughnin, coal pile And a dirty hat pulled low across my face Through cupped hands round the tin can I pretend to hold you to my breast and find That youre waitin from the backroads By the rivers of my memories Ever smilin ever gentle on my mind5
backroads, gentle, river, stain, knowin