G C
The highway 441 don't look much the same
G
They straightened out all the curves and
C
turned it four-lane
D
They by-passed every downtown clear
G Em
up to Clayton
Am D
We make better time now but damn it's a bore
[Chorus]
C
So honey, let's take the long way
G
Hang a hard left and then bare to the right
C
Hell, I ain't been through Clarksville
G
Since I was just learnin' to drive
D
We used to come fish in the creeks around here
Am
A few cans of corn and a twelve-pack of beer
D
We'd walk the banks till it was too dark to see
Am G C
Momma'd be drunk so she's hand me the keys and say
D G C
Go back the long way
G C
The long way
[Verse]
G C
I used to drive across the gorge every couple weekends
G C
Baby sister was just barely walkin' back then
D G Em
I never stayed long 'cause momma made me crazy
Am D
I'd hang out until dinner and say I got to go
C
And I'd head back down the long way
G
And step off in Demarest [?] I got the urge
C
To see my old sweetheart
G
If I's lucky I'd sleep there with her
D
I swore I loved her but I never did
Am
I thought I was a man but I's just a kid
D
Before the Lord brought you into my life
Am G C
I traveled this road but I's lost all the time
D G C
Out on the long way
G C
The long way
G C Em
Tiger Mountain ain't far from the house where she died
G C
She drifted off in her sleep on a clear Sunday night
D G Em
She called me that day, I said momma I'm busy
Am D
I woke up Monday mornin', found out she was gone
[Chorus]
C
So we went back the long way
G
It was the only way there used to be
C
And i's cryin' like a baby
G
So you did the drive in for me
D
I'll never forget how gentle you were
Am
Holdin' my hand, standin' over her
D
I knew back then you'd be the woman I'd
Am G C
Lovin' you's one thing I don't regret
G C
And we've come a long way
G C
A long way
G C
The highway 441 don't look much the same
