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Red Clay Halo Lyrics

All the girls all dance with the boys from the city,
And they don’t care to dance with me.
Now it ain’t my fault that the fields are muddy,
And the red clay stains my feet.

And it’s under my nails and it’s under my collar,
And it shows on my Sunday clothes.
Though I do my best with the soap and the water,
But the damned old dirt won’t go.

But when I pass through the pearly gate,
Will my gown be gold instead?
Or just a red clay robe with red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head?

Now it’s mud in the spring and it’s dust in the summer,
When it blows in a crimson tide.
Until tree and leaves and the cows are the color,
Of the dirt on the mountainside.

But when I pass through the pearly gate,
Will my gown be gold instead?
Or just a red clay robe with red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head?

Now Jordan’s bank they’re red and muddy,
And the rolling water is wide
But i got no boat, so I’ll be good and muddy,
When I get to the other side.

And when I pass through the pearly gate,
Will my gown be gold instead?
Or just a red clay robe with red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head?

I’ll take the red clay robe with the red clay wings,
And a red clay halo for my head.
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Cover art for Red Clay Halo lyrics by Gillian Welch

To me, this song is about being raised in an ungood way that makes your difference from others so salient that you're not invited in even when you're around. Regardless, it's about a loneliness so deep and unbearable that it will exist forever; even perfect heaven can't squelch the separation, the lack of company.

 
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