Monroe County Nights

The houses on the hill that I live They seem so sad They used to seem so sad The bricks and boards were off Hardwood floors and Shingled roofs above Were they not loved While salt and pepper hair Crowned the heads of unwed mothers And tobacco turned To ember in their eyes I'd summon words of worth To fill their bodies up with purpose And to pick the fruit Before it withered on the vine Far before its time By and by we all are shackled Caged by county lines Wired, blood drunk And born into the fight By and by we are no easy prey Or creatures prone to flight By and by on a Monroe County night The boys up on the hill that I live All walked away Or they slipped away Their armor turned to rust Backlit by a fading star at dusk They're just shadows Dancing in the dust While salt and pepper hair Flatters girls that we grew up with And they smile with all their Bright and steely eyes I am conjuring a man Full of worth And strength of purpose I feel like a creep delivering a line Like I've done so many times By and by we all are shackled Caged by county lines Wired, blood drunk And born into the fight By and by we are no easy prey Or creatures prone to flight By and by on a Monroe County night By and by we all are shackled Creatures born to fly By and by we let go of that life By and by on a Monroe County night