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