Turned around in Tidewater or all alone in Pueblo
I been drivin' with a death wish
down the mountains on my phone
Half the places I've been might be laced with psilocybin
I've been dreaming of a country I saw at the rodeo
Packed a bowl in the Bojangles 'cause Tennessee's so cold
Charlottesville by sundown's a nightmare to behold
There's an old-time dame with a twisty name
I couldn't read it if she wrote it
She's got a black powder revolver
wants to see if it's still loaded

I've been called by a higher lonesome than low as low can be
You can write it on my tombstone
outlaw life looks pretty wholesome
When you pay the price in foolishness
it takes to get you free
Higher lonesome killed the bitter parts of me


Co-dependents, SLA, and AL-Anon
They all know how I felt for you
I felt it in my guts before two steps in Philadelphia
With every coin the joiners get
they're farther from the pain of it
With all the hurting that we did
it's a shame no coin'll pay for it
I think I fell in love again on a walk in city park
Jodorowsky on the tiny screen and zigzags in the dark
And I figured I should let it go, or give it a couple days
It's a ton of bricks in Minneapolis
she don't know my last name
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I've been called by a higher lonesome than low as low can be
You can write it on my tombstone
outlaw life looks pretty wholesome
When you pay the price in foolishness
it takes to get you free
Higher lonesome killed the bitter parts of me

I saw the darkness coming at me in a Jeff City motel
There was writing on the mirror said
"You messed up so go to hell"
Cormier's pills were on me still
and her letter just half-read
By the time the sun was up I just got breakfast instead
I wish I could call the old folks
that aren't with us anymore
I feel granny dancing recklessly at the Floyd county store
And the artist has his suffering
and the gods will have their pain
By the time the ride is over
I'm sure I'll ask to ride again
To see the snowfall in Wyoming
strung out on Johno's coke
Keep a mailbox in Nebraska, so I know that Laura knows
She can write a letter once a year
and say that we're still close
I can put my sins on Benjamin, hear the songs he wrote
See, I don't want to hit rock bottom
just to see how deep it goes
Shine a light on six feet under so I ain't afraid to go
Prove in fact it is as lovely as can be
When higher lonesome kills the bitter parts of me


I've been called by a higher lonesome
Higher lonesome killed the bitter parts of me