Before I’m gone

Left my home in West Virginia

Never looking back

Rode the rails down to Georgia

But I got off on the wrong track

From town to town I have wandered

With a hunger in my eye

But lately I’ve discovered

A way to help me get by

I think of those green mountains back home

Sitting on the riverbank getting stoned

Even though I was by myself

I never felt quite alone

I dream of those deep valleys I love

I’m getting tired of all this push and shove

And I wonder if I’ll make it back

Before I’m gone

Shot a man in the Carolinas

Done my time

And I paid the price

In a craps game with the devil

I lose every time I roll the dice

I think of those green mountains back home

Sitting on the riverbank getting stoned

Even though I was by myself

I never felt quite alone

I dream of those deep valleys I love

I’m getting tired of all this push and shove

And I wonder if I’ll make it back

Before I’m gone

When my time is all but over

I’ll say goodbye to these Georgia pines

And make my way back to where I call home

Somewhere near that Logan Mingo line

I think of those green mountains back home

Sitting on the riverbank getting stoned

Even though I was by myself

I never felt quite alone

I dream of those deep valleys I love

I’m getting tired of all this push and shove

And I wonder if I’ll make it back

Before I’m gone

And I wonder if I’ll make it back

Before I’m gone

I hope I make it back before I’m gone