Lyrics

Once a month I leave the city for that gravel country drive
Trade the traffic and the deadlines for his front porch in the pines
Soon as I pass through Daddy’s front gate, time rolls back in this old world
’Cause no matter what the world calls me, I’m still his little girl

He meets me in the doorway, calls me Mama’s name at first
Spends the afternoon retelling how they met that night at church
Fourth of July and fireworks, said he knew she was his world
How he taught me stickshift on those back roads, grinding gears, his little girl

Every visit feels a little shorter, like borrowed time
Each time I leave the gravel drive, carrying more weight on my mind
They call it the long goodbye, but when I look into his eyes
I still see the man on the inside

He sits there in his armchair, staring at that picture frame
Wedding vows and Fourth of July, faces he can’t always name
What used to be just one quick hug on the porch now steals the night
’Cause each time I turn to go, he holds that goodbye just a little more tight

Every visit feels a little shorter, like borrowed time
Each time I leave the gravel drive, carrying more weight on my mind
They call it the long goodbye, but when I look into his eyes
I still see the man on the inside

He might forget my name, lose the faces and the years
But there’s One who’s never shaken, counts each heartbeat, knows each tear
When this long goodbye is over, and his mind is clear and bright
The Lord will still be holding tight to the man on the inside

Every visit feels a little shorter, like borrowed time
Each time I leave the gravel drive, carrying more weight on my mind
They call it the long goodbye, but when I look into his eyes
I know God sees the man on the inside