Take me back to those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee Where the mockin'bird is singin' high up in the laurel tree Let the Alabama moon shine her light on me Way back in those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee My Daddy was a rounder, he wore a rounder's hat and coat He used to strum a banjo, though he couldn't play a note My Momma used to tell me, with a smile upon her face "If you want second helpin's, son, you'll have to say more grace" Take me back to those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee Where the mockin'bird is singin' high up in the laurel tree Let the Alabama moon shine her light on me Way back in those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee It was just a year ago, I took out on the bum With only 14 dollars, a suitcase and a gun But now I am a rich man, and there's one thing that I know: The place that I long most to be is a place where I can't go Take me back to those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee Where the mockin'bird is singin' high up in the laurel tree Let the Alabama moon shine her light on me Way back in those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee Now if you ever leave your home, and loved ones far behind Someday you'll open up your eyes and see that you were blind 'Cause if there is a heaven, I know where it will be: Way back in those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee Take me back to those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee Where the mockin'bird is singin' high up in the laurel tree Let the Alabama moon shine her light on me Way back in those old Kentucky hills of Tennessee