Growing Up

[Verse 1]
Dust on the window, a crack in the pane
Saw Mama packin' through the summer rain
Barefoot in the kitchen, just five years old
Heard whispers and goodbyes, a story untold
Daddy’s truck roared, a gravel road goodbye
Left a hollow echo 'neath a wide open sky
Felt the floorboards tremble, a shiver in my soul
Watched my whole world shatter, lose all control

[Chorus]
Oh, the Georgia red dirt, it stained my bare feet
As my childhood home turned bitter, then bittersweet
Two separate highways, they both drove away
Left a little girl wonderin' where she should stay
From the porch swing creakin' to the firefly gleam
Just a memory hauntin', a half-forgotten dream
Southern belle heart, torn right in two
Underneath the magnolia, standin' strong and true

[Verse 2]
Sundays at the diner, a booth for just three
Now it was just me and whoever could be
Mama found a new life, a smile on her face
Daddy built a new fence 'round a different place
I saw him at the fairground, hand in a new hand
Felt a fiery ember burnin' in the sand
They talked about the weather, 'bout harvest and yield
But never 'bout the child lost out in the field

[Chorus]
Oh, the Georgia red dirt, it stained my bare feet
As my childhood home turned bitter, then bittersweet
Two separate highways, they both drove away
Left a little girl wonderin' where she should stay
From the porch swing creakin' to the firefly gleam
Just a memory hauntin', a half-forgotten dream
Southern belle heart, torn right in two
Underneath the magnolia, standin' strong and true

[Bridge]
That old house stands empty, shutters hangin' low
The wisteria's climbin', where we used to grow
No more laughter echo, no more supper bell chime
Just the ghosts of my family, lost to the sands of time
But the strength in my spirit, it burns like a flame
Call out to the heavens, whisper their names
I carry their wildness, their passion, their strife
A river of feeling, flowing through my life

[Chorus]
Oh, the Georgia red dirt, it stained my bare feet
As my childhood home turned bitter, then bittersweet
Two separate highways, they both drove away
Left a little girl wonderin' where she should stay
From the porch swing creakin' to the firefly gleam
Just a memory hauntin', a half-forgotten dream
Southern belle heart, torn right in two
Underneath the magnolia, standin' strong and true