Lyrics to I'm Not Country

© Eric Michael Jones [ASCAP]

I was born in New England

Lived here all my life

Got a three bedroom house in the suburbs

With my two kids and my first wife

Went to USC, got a degree

I must have learned a thing or three

But I never learned the right way

To hang a tire swing from the old oak tree

I’m not country

I never owned a pickup truck

Don’t drink too much or get in fights

Never been down on my luck

I never rode a painted pony

Across a meadow fresh with dew

But if I’m ever born again my friend

That’s the first thing that I’ll do

Got a picture of the Smokey Mountains

Taped to my office wall

Down at the local pub

I pretend a southern drawl

And put Johnny Cash on the jukebox

‘Cause he makes my heart ache

Staring out the window at the taxicabs

I think God must have made some cruel mistake

‘Cause I’m not country

Never plowed a field of corn

I never rode in an eighteen-wheeler

Or even blew the horn

Never made love to my sweetheart

Underneath the sky so blue

But if I’m ever born again my friend

Gonna do that too

I’ve been to London

Paris, Beijing and Bangkok too

Sip martinis with the jet set in New York City

So why am I blue?

Because I’d rather be alone on an old dirt road

Just kickin’ stones

I’ve never been to West Virginia

But to me that sounds like home

But I’m not country

That’s just songs on the radio

And I ain’t goin’ down to Nashville

To some Grand ol’ Opry show

Never wore a cowboy hat or boots

Or chug-a-lugged a brew

But you’d better believe in my next life

That’s the third, fourth and fifth thing I’m gonna do

I’ll never own a pickup truck

I don’t drink too much or get in fights

Never been down on my luck

I never rode a painted pony

Across a meadow fresh with dew

But if I’m ever born again my friend

That’s the first thing that I’ll do