I was raised off of Rural Route 3,
out past where the blacktop ends,
We'd walk to church on Sunday mornin'
and race barefoot back to Johnson's fence
That's where I first saw Mary,
On that roadside pickin' blackberries,
that summer I turned a corner in my soul down that red dirt road
It's where I drank my first beer,
It's where I found Jesus,
Where I wrecked my first car
I tore it all to pieces,
I learned the path to heaven,
It's full of sinners and believers,
Learned that happiness on earth,
Ain't just for high achievers,
I've learned, I've come to know,
there's life at both ends of that red dirt road
Her daddy didn't like me much,
In my shackled up GTO,
I'd sneak out in the middle of the night,
Throw rocks at her bedroom window,
We'd turn out the headlights,
Drive by the moonlight,
Talk about what the future might hold,
Down that red dirt road,
It's where I drank my first beer,
It's where I found Jesus,
Where I wrecked my first car
I tore it all to pieces,
I learned the path to heaven,
It's full of sinners and believers,
Learned that happiness on earth,
Ain't just for high achievers,
I've learned, I've come to know,
there's life at both ends of that red dirt road
I went out into the world,
And I came back in,
I lost Mary,
Oh, I got her back again
And driving home tonight
Feels like I found a long lost friend,
It's where I drank my first beer,
It's where I found Jesus,
Where I wrecked my first car
I tore it all to pieces,
I learned the path to heaven,
Is full of sinners and believers,
Learned that happiness on earth,
Ain't just for high achievers,
I've learned, I've come to know,
there's life at both ends of that red dirt road
Yes, I've learned, I've come to know,
there's life at both ends of that red dirt road