The world ain’t wider than a county line,
Or the view from my old porch swing.
Just one stoplight that’s forgot how to shine,
And the sound of the church bells ring.
You can measure my life in rows of corn,
And the seasons of sun and of frost.
But a storm’s been brewin’ since I was born,
And I’m scared of what’s about to be lost.
(Chorus)
‘Cause these are big troubles in a small, small world,
Where there ain’t no place to run.
Every whisper’s a flag that gets unfurled,
Underneath this unforgiving sun.
Yeah, my shadow gets long and my world gets tight,
And the silence just screams in the dark.
It’s a heavyweight heartache, a full-grown fight,
On a map that’s barely a mark.
The banker’s letter sits on the dash,
Words colder than a winter creek.
Turnin’ a lifetime of work into ash,
Leavin’ a man too broken to speak.
Saw Jed at the diner, he looked away fast,
Heard his farm’s doin’ better than mine.
In a town this small, your reflection is cast
In the judgment of every eye you find.
(Chorus)
‘Cause these are big troubles in a small, small world,
Where there ain’t no place to run.
Every whisper’s a flag that gets unfurled,
Underneath this unforgiving sun.
Yeah, my shadow gets long and my world gets tight,
And the silence just screams in the dark.
It’s a heavyweight heartache, a full-grown fight,
On a map that’s barely a mark.
I drive these roads ’til the tank is low,
Past the fields where my granddaddy bled.
The dust knows my secrets, the dry winds know
All the prayers that I ain’t yet said.
This patch of dirt is my blessing and curse,
My whole sky in a circle of hills.
For better or worse, for better or worse,
It’s the quiet that quietly kills.
Yeah, these are big troubles, on this acre of a world.
And there’s nowhere else to be.