Mobile - Bill Morrissey

The road was the color of the road

And the sky was the color of the sky

And the heat was the breath of your kiss

When you waited far too long to sigh

Your stories were just stories

Your love not even that

Though you knew of my past glories

When I could win a heart when I tipped my hat

Your beauty was just beauty

Though many men were spared

And like the others you saw through me

But I always came prepared

There were drops of white on a southern dawn

That made the cotton look so real

But there was nothing upon nothing

On that long road to Mobile

You held me close on your back porch

But I’ve been held before

Where rich girls knew what silence was

And what a kiss was for

You promised me undying love

As the sun broke through the trees

You promised me the stars above

As you fell to your knees

Well, a promise is a promise

When you cannot fake the lie

When you give your heart in the morning light

There’s no Sunday goodbye

But the world always begins anew

When the summer church bells peal

And there was nothing upon nothing

On that long road to Mobile

Jesus lived and Jesus died

And it was just to make you sweet

And they nailed him down and Mary cried

«All love is incomplete.»

Still I believe the soldier

Who gambled big that day

Who traded clothes for a crown of thorns

To guide him on his way

«A crown of thorns,» his wife scoffed

«That's all you’ve brought today

You’ve just returned with a crown of thorns

And you call it a day’s pay?»

A crown is just a crown

And a deal is just a deal

And there was nothing upon nothing

On that long road to Mobile

Alabama turns it back

When the air’s too thick to breathe

And there was no air in that shotgun shack

When I knew I should leave

I’ll leave alone the way I came

As the maid undoes your stays

I had a race I thought was run

But now I see it goes two ways

A destination holds no gold

It’s all in the journey

So leaving and returning now

It’s all the same to me

When the sun burns every seed you plant

You cannot sell the yield

And there was nothing upon nothing

On that long road to Mobile