Where the Cottonwoods Bend

I left my coat on the ranch house chair

With a note for the morning crew

Took the old red Ford past the county line

Where the hills turn a deeper blue

There was dust on the hood and a map in my hand

And a coffee gone cold by dawn

I had one good horse in the back of my mind

And a road I could ride upon

So take me with a kite

By the creek that cuts through the stone

I was born with a heart that won't stay put

But I know when a place feels like home

Let the wide sky roll and the tall grass lean

Let the miles do what they do

I'll carry my name in the western wind

And leave a little room for you

At a crossroad store near the water tower

A ranch hand waved me through

He said, there's work up north and a porch out back

If a restless soul will do

I laughed and said, I've been called worse than that

By a man with a brand new fence

He tipped his hat and the whole town grinned

Like they understood the sense

So take me where the cottonwood's been

By the creek that cuts through the stone

I was born with a heart that won't stay put

But I know when a place feels like home

Let the white sky roll and the tall grass lean

Let the miles do what they do

I'll carry my name in the western wind

And leave a little room for you

Come sunset

I found that porch with a lantern by the door

You were bending a brown leather rein

Like you'd done a thousand times before

He asked me if I planned to stay

I said, ask me when the coffin's through

You smiled like the answer was already there

And made a little room for two

Now take me where the cottonwoods bend

By the creek that cuts through the stone

I was born with a heart that won't

But I know when a place feels like home

Let the white sky roll and the tall grass lean

Let the miles do what they do

I'll carry your name in the western wind

And leave all my roads for you

The old red Ford still waits by the gate

But I don't hear it calling me

There's a brown leather rain on the kitchen wall

And a porch beneath the cottonwood tree