I was born in Oklahoma
Nineteen thirty-one
Outside the town of Spavinaw
Where the red dust clouds the sun
And I ran beneath your diamond skies
And I drank your waves of grain
My name is Mickey Mantle, boys
And baseball is my game
verse 2
My father's name was 'Mutt', boy
And he worked down in the mines
He pitched to me in the evening
At least a thousand times
A thousand times again
In my nightmare and my dreams
You're gonna live in the house that Ruth built, kid
You're gonna make that Yankee team
verse 3
Sure enough, the Yankee scout comes driving
Right down Route 66
He'd have never come to Spavinaw
But I happened to be playing in an old wood ballpark
Way out on the Mother Road
That Yankee scout he signed me
And I went up to the show
verse 4
Strike 1, that was the drinking
Strike 2, there go the knees
Then my old man died in Denver
Some type of lung disease
When god starts throwing changeups
You can't swing with fame or wealth
If I'd known I's gonna live this long
I'd taken care of myself
Instrumental
Verse 5
I don't miss the lights of Times Square
I don't miss Toots Shore's bar
I miss my old man pitching baseball
Near the shed in our backyard
I wish that he were still around
To see these trophies on my shelf
If I'd a-known I was going to live this long
I'd taken better care of myself
I was born in Oklahoma
Nineteen thirty-one
Outside the town of Spavinaw
Where the red dust clouds the sun