Turnpike Troubadours On The Red River Lyrics

[Verse 1]
There's a mid-July whitetail in velvet
Red as your old Chevrolet
And I was sixteen when you wrecked it and we
Were lucky we both walked away
And you could day work and scrape out a living
The work for which you had been born
You were quick with a laugh and forgiving
And tied hard and fast to the horn
We had Kelpies and good Quarter Horses
We had wheat pasture yearlings tied down
We learned pain was the price of admission
And you're never done paying it down
[Chorus]
Back on the red river, not hard to remember
When your daddy wouldn't ever get old
When I saw the world from up on your shoulders
I remember the view, when you live like we do
Death doesn't leave with the best part of you

[Verse 2]
On days off, we'd help out our neighbors
And we smiled and we sweated for free
You'd earned every drink with your labor
And I'd sleep on your front seat 'til 3
And you'd call it a cure for a snake bite
And reach for a fifth of Old Crow
Some medicine should get your head right When your symptoms were starting to show

[Chorus]
Back on the red river, not hard to remember
When your daddy wouldn't ever get old
When I saw the world from up on your shoulders
I remember the view, when you live like we do
Death doesn't leave with the best part of you

[Verse 3]
And there are pickups lined up down the driveway
Have I really been gone for two years?
I'd be on my third on a good day
I find my last bottle of beer
I guess Saturday started without you
I knew before I got the call
The red July bucks are in velvet
I'll tell you about 'em this fall
[Chorus]
Back on the red river, not hard to remember
When your daddy wouldn't ever get old
I got a look at the world from up on your shoulders
I remember the view, when you live like we do
Death doesn't leave with the best part of you

[Outro]
Got a look at the world from up on your shoulders
I remember the view, when you live like we do
Death doesn't leave with the best part of you