Letter in the Mail

If I could go down now, the whole town is sleeping,
see the sun creeping up on the hill,
know the river and the railroad
run through the valley still
Guess it never was much to look at, just a one-horse town
kind of place young people want to leave today
storefronts pretty much boarded up
Main Street pretty much closed down.

Oh, the church bell still rings on a Sunday
old folks still go, young ones listen on the radio
Saturday night, nothing but a stray dog running wild
like nobody’s child.
Little by little, light after light, that’s how it died
they say you’ll never go home again and that’s no lie
it’s like a letter in the mail to a brother in jail it’s a matter of time
you can do a little bit better time
it does me good to believe sometimes
It used to be part of the heartland, awful proud and strong
Deep, deep down, peaceful and serene
people used to talk about the country
that’s what they used to mean
Might go down come the weekend, go on my own
drop off Annie and the baby, maybe drive alone
pay my last respects to a time that has all but gone
Said mama come look at the mountain,
fire in the sky, lit up like the fourth of July,
mill burning down, jobs leavening town, trains rolling by.
Little by little, light after light, that’s how it died
they say you’ll never go home again now that’s no lie
it’s like a letter in the mail to a brother in jail it’s a matter of time
you can do a little bit better time