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A road song with swagger. He drove out of Atlanta on the first of July and hasn’t stopped moving since. Kansas City, Sioux Falls, a motel west of Tucson where the AC barely tried. Every town’s a stranger and every stranger’s got a story. He’s collecting miles like souvenirs and he’s gone before the coffee’s cold. It’s the most rhythmically driven track on the album — country-hip-hop hybrid energy with 808 bass under bright acoustic guitar. The kind of song that makes you nod before you sing.
Lyrics
[Intro] [Verse 1] Drove out of Atlanta on the first day of July Air so thick I couldn't tell the asphalt from the sky Everything I owned was in the bed behind the cab A duffel bag, a guitar, and a life I didn't plan to have Hit the county line and something shifted in my chest Like the rearview finally quit competing with what's next Cranked the window down and let the highway fill my lungs Felt like the second half of something barely just begun [Pre-Chorus] I don't know where I'm headed and I don't much care Every mile puts a little more distance in the air Between the man who stayed too long and the man who's finally free Only thing I'm chasing now is whoever I'm gonna be [Chorus] I'm gone by morning, gone before the sun Gone before the coffee's cold, gone before I'm done Every town's a stranger and every stranger's got a story I'm collecting miles like souvenirs And I'm gone by morning [Verse 2] Kansas City looked at me like I was overdressed Khaki shorts and boat shoes in a bar that knew me best As "that guy from somewhere east who doesn't know the drill" But the band was playing covers and the whiskey hit the bill Sioux Falls had a diner where the chicken-fried was king The waitress called me "honey" and it didn't mean a thing But it meant enough to sit there feeling human for an hour Eating food that fought back harder than a marriage going sour [Pre-Chorus] Still a little city in the places I don't fit Still reaching for a menu like it's something I submit But nobody's keeping score out here, nobody's taking notes Just another drifter learning how to stay afloat [Chorus] I'm gone by morning, gone before the sun Gone before the coffee's cold, gone before I'm done Every town's a stranger and every stranger's got a story I'm collecting miles like souvenirs And I'm gone by morning [Verse 3] Found a motel west of Tucson where the AC barely tried Lay on top of the sheets and felt the heat waves off the ride Ceiling fan clicked circles like a clock that lost its mind And I smiled, 'cause for the first time I had nowhere else to find Played a set in some roadside place where nobody knew my name A girl with turquoise earrings said she liked the way I came Alive up on that barstool with a beat-up borrowed sound I was the excitement that rolled into town And I'd be gone before the next one came around [Bridge] Now I won't pretend I don't think about the yard The neighbors and the mortgage and the life that fell apart But the thing about a rearview is it only shows you where you've been And I've been there long enough — I'm not going back again The road don't care about your credit score Don't care about your lawn It just keeps on rolling forward And it wants you to come along [Chorus — Final] I'm gone by morning, gone before the sun Gone before the coffee's cold, gone before I'm done Every town's a first date and every sunset's something new I'm collecting who I am one highway at a time And I'm gone by morning Yeah, I'm gone by morning [Outro] I'm gone by morning