If I were a painter
You'd be green and gold
Carved out of matches
But broken out of stone
Taken from the fire of your fiddle
Words of unspoken, blinding truth
If I couldn't see it, I was lost in my youth
But I'm going back to Memphis - after you.
If I could have seen you
With blood on your bones
Poison in your fingers
But music in your soul
You could have been my lover
Taught me everything I know
But now we are your children
Your flowers in the snow
But all you ever wanted was to see the heart of the city, oh
And all you ever got was hand to mouth
So I know you'll be walking for a long, long time
Cause you're going back to Memphis - heading South.
Brothers till the night came
And whispered in the pines
Tempting me with secrets
To play a game with time
Now I feel you in the walls
And I know you're in the air
And it's just like I can touch you
You're living everywhere
But all you ever wanted was to be in the heart of the city, oh
And all you ever got was handed out
So I know we'll be walking for a long, long time
Cause we're going back to Memphis - heading South
Going back to Memphis - heading South.