Backwoods Peace

BACKWOODS PEACE Put me in the backwoods where the tall pines sway Far away from all the noise and chaos every day Hand me a rifle and let me breathe slow Out where the muddy backroads wind and go Mud thick as clay stuck heavy on my tires Old fence posts leaning next to rusted wires Sunshine warming every inch of the land Cool breeze rolling soft across my hands That’s home to me, where my heart feels right Not trapped beneath them crowded city lights I don’t belong where the horns all scream I belong where the creeks run clean Lightning bugs glowing when the daylight fades Tiny dancing lanterns through the shade Floating through the fields so calm and bright Like little stars dropped into the night Around ten o’clock the coyotes cry Lonely echoes drifting through the sky Rolling through the hills and the old pine trees Mixed with crickets singing in the breeze No sirens ringing through the dark No traffic jams or crowded parks Just peaceful silence settling in And a country night that heals again Old trucks cooling after long dirt rides Boot prints pressed where the water dries Bonfire smoke rising slow and high While sparks drift upward to the midnight sky Out here nobody’s putting on a show No fake faces trying hard to glow Just hardworking people living true Doing what simple country folks do Give me deer trails winding through the woods Fishing lines where the river stood Give me gravel roads and muddy rain And thunder rolling across the plains I’d rather hear an old screen door slam Than spend my nights stuck in traffic again Rather smell pine and fresh-cut hay Than breathe in smoke all day after day Backwoods blood runs deep in me Wild and restless but finally free Raised around dirt, rust, and pines Learning peace don’t come from city signs Some folks chase the fast-paced life Bright lights shining every night But I found peace where the shadows bend Down old roads that never seem to end Late-night rides with the windows down No destination needing found Just country songs and a moonlit sky Watching the dark world drift on by When storms roll in I stand outside Let thunder shake the countryside Rain pouring heavy across the land Feeling alive where I stand Cause out here life still feels real Every scar and every healed wound Every sunrise, every breeze Feels like home deep inside of me So put me in the backwoods for good Deep where the old dirt trails still run Cause every mile away from town Feels like my soul slowing down And when the coyotes cry tonight Underneath that pale moonlight I’ll sit there smiling, breathing free Cause the backwoods will always be home to me.