I just got back From my old home town Land of the tall green corn And the good black ground My brothers and sisters All gathered 'round To split up what's left Of two good lives left, both gone and down We emptied out the drawers The garage and the closets Divvied up the family treasures And all the portraits of us Shed a few good tears Share a few good laughs Then we each drove away With a box full of family artifacts A cardboard box Full of this and that Lace tablecloths, shared dishes And faded photographs Whoever said, "You can never go back"? Well I did today With a box full of family artifacts Look at this old bowl Faded roses on the side Takes me back to the kitchen table on seventh street At breakfast time Here's Dad's old silver dollar All shiny and worn A 1922 Liberty Eagle The year that he was born And here's Mom's old rosary With Jesus taped to the cross I can still see her lips moving now As she prayed for us A cardboard box Full of this and that Lace tablecloths, shared dishes And faded photographs Whoever said, "You can never go back"? Well I did today With a box full of family artifacts It's hard to think Boils down to this A man and woman lived their lives And raised their kids It doesn't look like much When you pack it all up There's so much more that can't be boxed It's all the memories Whoever said, "You can never go back"? Well I did today With a box full of family artifacts I just got back From my old home town Land of the tall green corn And the good black ground My brothers and sisters All gathered 'round To split up what's left Of two good lives left, both gone and down