I'm Not Country

Eric Michael Jones [ASCAP]

I was born in New England
Lived here all my life
Got a three bedroom house in the suburbs
With my two kids and my first wife
Went to USC, got a degree
I must have learned a thing or three
But I never learned the right way
To hang a tire swing from the old oak tree

Im not country
I never owned a pickup truck
Dont drink too much or get in fights
Never been down on my luck
I never rode a painted pony
Across a meadow fresh with dew
But if Im ever born again my friend
Thats the first thing that Ill do

Got a picture of the Smokey Mountains
Taped to my office wall
Down at the local pub
I pretend a southern drawl
And put Johnny Cash on the jukebox
Cause he makes my heart ache
Staring out the window at the taxicabs
I think God must have made some cruel mistake

Cause Im not country
Never plowed a field of corn
I never rode in an eighteen-wheeler
Or even blew the horn
Never made love to my sweetheart
Underneath the sky so blue
But if Im ever born again my friend
Gonna do that too

Ive been to London
Paris, Beijing and Bangkok too
Sip martinis with the jet set in New York City
So why am I blue?
Because Id rather be alone on an old dirt road
Just kickin stones
Ive never been to West Virginia
But to me that sounds like home

But Im not country
Thats just songs on the radio
And I aint goin down to Nashville
To some Grand ol Opry show
Never wore a cowboy hat or boots
Or chug-a-lugged a brew
But youd better believe in my next life
Thats the third, fourth and fifth thing Im gonna do

Ill never own a pickup truck
I dont drink too much or get in fights
Never been down on my luck
I never rode a painted pony
Across a meadow fresh with dew
But if Im ever born again my friend
Thats the first thing that Ill do