Whiskey Tracks & Iron Bars

Mama tried to keep me straight, but I’m afraid I strayed too far,

Caught the midnight train to nowhere, with my whiskey mason jar.

I rode those iron rails with the moon light as my only guide,

Chasing freedom in the bottle, where my demons hide.

Every whistle’s wail was a cry I couldn’t ignore,

Rolling through the darkness, I was always wanting more.

From the city lights to the cold, hard steel,

I ran from everything that I couldn’t feel.

Whiskey tracks and iron bars, they couldn’t hold this wild heart,

I’ve been running, I’ve been fighting, tearing my soul apart.

It’s a game I’ve played, played played,

I’m a prisoner of my choices, in this bed that I have made.

Prison walls, they closed in tight, with memories of my crime,

My Mama’s tears fell like rain, but I was running out of time.

With a bottle in my hand, I fought the war inside my head,

Now these bars are my companions, and this cot’s my broken bed.

Every drunken night was a step towards my down fall,

Chasing phantoms in the dark, hitting every wall.

From the open road to the cell’s cold light,

I paid the price for every damn reckless night.

Mama tried to save me from the path I chose,

But the whiskey’s call was louder, and now the whole town knows.

In the silence of my cell, I hear the train’s distant cry,

And I know I’ll ride those rails again, the day I say goodbye.

Mama, I’m sorry for the tears and the pain,

For every night you waited up, I know I was a pain.

But these tracks and bars, they’ve taught me well,

It’s the echo of the train, I found my own private hell.