Mercy Beat Me Home

Hm... mercy beat me home
Eleven hundred miles

I rehearsed my speech at every red light
Down eleven hundred miles of road
Practice the sorry, practice the sit-down
Practice the way I would carry the load
Practice the look on my face
By the border I could not say it right
By the gravel the moon was up
There was supper and a light in the window
And a dog that came running up
The screen door sang like it always did
I stood at the gate like a thief in the yard
The moon was up and the field was silver
And my sorry sounded small out loud

I had my hand on the gate
I had my mouth full of sorry
I had my whole life in a bag
And I was not in a hurry

Mercy beat me home, mercy beat me home
Was standing in the yard when I came
Mercy beat me home, mercy beat me home
Said my name before I said my shame

Mm-hm... mercy
Mm-hm... home
Mm-hm... mercy
Mm-hm... home

Daddy never asked me where I had been
He said the hens were laying and the roof held on
He said the water's hot, son, and the bread's still warm
And I stood waiting for the other shoe to drop
I opened my mouth and he put his hand on my arm
He said you're thin, you're tired, come and sit down
Mama had set a third plate on the table
She had set it every night since I left
She said she could not tell me why
She said she could not sleep till it was set
He said I kept your boots by the door
He said the gate was never latched
He said supper's at six, son, wash up
He said the dog kept looking for me

The speech fell out of my hands like a stone
The dog already knew my name
I had my mouth full of sorry
And there was nowhere left to put it down

Mercy beat me home, mercy beat me home
Was standing in the yard when I came
Mercy beat me home, mercy beat me home
Said my name before I said my shame

Mm-hm... mercy
Mm-hm... home

I thought the miles would pay the debt
I thought the sorry was the key
But the door had never been locked
Not one night
The light was on for me
Every red light was a mercy

Mercy beat me home, mercy beat me home
Was standing in the yard when I came
Mercy beat me home, mercy beat me home
Said my name and I forgot my shame

I could not outrun it, I could not outlast
Mercy beat me home
Mm-hm... mercy
Mm-hm... home

Mm-hm... mercy beat me home
Hm... eleven hundred miles
Mercy beat me home