[Verse 1]
Houses on the hill that I live
They seemed so sad
They used to seem so sad
Bricks and boards were off
Hardwood floors and shingled roofs above
[Thing I?] loved
[Pre-Chorus 1]
While salt-and-pepper hair crowned the heads of un-wed mothers
And tobacco turned to limber in their eyes
I'd summon words of worth to fill their bodies up with purpose
And to pick the fruit before it withered on the vine
Far before its time
[Chorus]
By-and-by we all are shackled
Caged by county lines
Wired blood-drunk and born into the fight
By-and-by we are no easy prey
We're creatures prone to flight
By-and-by on a Monroe County night
[Verse 2]
Boys up on the hill that I live
All walked away 'fore they slipped away
Their armor turned to rust
Backlit by a fading star at dusk
They're just shadows dancing in the dust
[Pre-Chorus 2]
While salt-and-pepper hair flatters girls that we grew up with
They smile with all of their pride and steely eyes
I'm conjuring a man full of worth and strenght of purpose
I feel like a creep delivering a line
Like I've done so many times
[Chorus]
By-and-by we all are shackled
Caged by county lines
Wired blood-drunk and born into the fight
By-and-by we are no easy prey
We're creatures prone to flight
By-and-by on a Monroe County night
[Outro]
By-and-by we all are shackled
Creatures born to fly
By-and-by we let go of that life
By-and-by on a Monroe County night
