I was raised off of Rural Route 3

Out past where the blacktop ends

We'd walk to church on Sunday morning

Race barefoot back to Johnson's fence

That's where I first saw Mary

On that roadside pickin' blackberries

That summer I turned a corner in my soul

Down that red dirt road

It's where I drank my first beer

It's where I found Jesus

Where I wrecked my first car

I tore it all to pieces

I learned the path to Heaven

Is full of sinners and believers

Learned that happiness on earth

Ain't just for high achievers

I've learned; I've come to know

There's life at both ends

Of that red dirt road

Her Daddy didn't like me much

In my shackled up GTO

Oh, I'd sneak out in the middle of the night

Throw rocks at her bedroom window

We'd turn out the headlights

Drive by the moonlight

Talk about what the future might hold

Down that red dirt road

It's where I drank my first beer

It's where I found Jesus

Where I wrecked my first car

I tore it all to pieces

I learned the path to Heaven

Is full of sinners and believers

Learned that happiness on earth

Ain't just for high achievers

I've learned; I've come to know

There's life at both ends

Of that red dirt road

I went out into the world

An' I came back in

I lost Mary

Oh, I got her back again

An' drivin' home tonight

Feels like I've found a long-lost friend

It's where I drank my first beer

It's where I found Jesus

Where I wrecked my first car

I tore it all to pieces

I learned the path to Heaven

Is full of sinners and believers

Learned that happiness on earth

Ain't just for high achievers

I've learned; I've come to know

There's life at both ends

Of that red dirt road