Daddy sits on a’ front porch swinging
Looking out on a vacant field
Used to be filled with burley t'bacca
Now he knows it never will

My brother's found work in Indiana
Sister's a nurse at the old folks home
Mama still cooking 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 coming back again

Deliah plays that ol' church pian'a
Sitting 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 hear 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 beat the big deal
Playin' down on Broadway, gettin' there the hard way
Living from a tip jar, sleeping in my car
Hocking my guitar, yeah I’m gonna be a star

Now, me and Deliah singing every Sunday
Watching 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've 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 coming back

I said a long time gone
No, I ain't honked the horn
Since I don’t know when long time gone
And it ain't coming back again

I said a long time, long time, long time gone
Well 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