Sittin' at a red light down around Sunset
A girl pulls up beside me in a candy apple red corvette
She pulled down her shades gave me a wink
I gave her a little smile back
Then she laughed as she hit the gas
I remembered where I was at

'Cause it's hard to be cool when you're behind the wheel
Of an eight passenger automobile
In a big bubble crusin' down the street
With Barney blairin' and a baby seat
Hey it can be done but I'm tellin' you man
It's hard to be cool in a minivan

I used to have a supped up hot rod
Man I spared no cost
284 four on the floor
Headers and dual exhaust
'Bout the time the family came
Well that's the first thing that went
The preacher said for better or worse
Now I know just what he meant

I wouldn't change my life a bit
I'm a lucky man I know
Just wish my wife and kids could fit
In a '67 GTO

Come on boys can I hear an amen
It's hard to be cool in a minivan

I'm tryin' to be cool
You kids keep it down back there don't make me pull this thing over
I mean it!
Honey I am not lost, I am not lost, I promise you I know where I'm goin'

They say Heaven waits for the righteous
A road to redemption that's what life is
But somewhere down a blue highway
I found paradise
Heaven's a small town
Heaven's a small town

Streets ain't lined with gold just some white lines
No pearly gates just a stop sign
I found my angel here in a pair of tight blue jeans
Heaven's a small town
Heaven's a small town

It's a Sunday morning everyday
I pray my soul is here to stay
It's a small town
Heaven's a small town

Where every good ol' boy is a good son
And every good ol' girl she's a fine one
Everybody knows your name and everybody waves
Heaven's a small town
Heaven's a small town

Even poor lost sinners like me
Find a second chance
Heaven's a small town
Heaven's a small town
Heaven's a small town
Heaven's a small town

I don't know how such big ideas can fit in your pretty head
Sometimes I can't believe my ears when I hear what you just said
Somebody else might think you're crazy but I know that they're wrong
Dream on dream on

You got a wild imagination a little left of reality
A watercolor vision that you gotta believe to see
I'd never want to change you baby
The only thing I want is when you dream on dream on me

My chest you rest your head on
These hands you can rely on
When you need to find someone to lean on to dream on
You can dream on me

I'll walk in the shadows that don't bother me
I don't mind ridin' shotgun baby here's the keys
Just hit the gas and take me where only your heart can go
Dream on dream on me

Things are obsolete before you get'em home
They're out of style the day you put'em on
A bigger this a faster that
If that's really where it's at
It makes me wanna make my world

Smaller like the town where I was raised
Slower an easy gentle pace
Fewer things to take up space
There's higher there's wider there's taller
But for me better isn't bigger it's smaller

In this frantic and expanding universe
You gotta get ahead you've got to finish first
It's gone too far I'm spread too thin
I've got to find myself again
I'd like to see my circle grow

When I follow my own heart
It's the sound of a different drum
But if I listen I start to see my cares become

One day I decided I would go and wet my line down at the fishing hole
Found you sitting there in a calico dress on the bank bare feet hanging over the edge
It was July hot about a hundred and ten
That river looked inviting so we jumped right in
We'd only been friends up until that summer but that all changed the moment we went under

Something in the water that we did not see
Reached up and grabbed a hold of you and me
Jumped in to cool off but we came out hotter
Lord have mercy must be something in the water

We started smiling then we started laughing we swam around kicking and splashing
Not sure exactly just what it was but we dove in the river and fell in love
Look at the surface you don't see nothing
But underneath Lord it's really something
One little kiss was all it took come here to fish and we sure got hooked

I believe that I could make a million bucks
If I could only find a way to bottle it up

Girl you know how to set those gears in motion
Where'd you come up with such a crazy notion
Just up and leave like we ain't got a care
No way of knowing where we're goin' till we get there

I'd be crazy to let three dances and one little kiss destroy my chances
Of gettin' that foreman's job that's been long overdue
Crazy at the drop of a hat girl I just met leave just like that
End up who knows where just me and you
I'd be crazy...crazy not to

Those big blue eyes just keep right on darin' me
Things you got me thinkin' girl you're scarin' me
Hey that sounds cool don't even take a map
What in the world am I sayin' scratch that

What about who's gonna cut the grass
Get the mail take out the trash
Walk the dog feed the fish
The more I think about that

I was just sixteen and all caught up in the magic of her blue eyes
She was the girl of my dreams and wanted so bad to ask her if she would be mine
Well life can be cruel she left me feelin' like a fool
Picking up all of the pieces

You don't forget a feeling like that
It lives in your heart and lasts forever
It makes you who you are
One moment in time is all that it takes
To suddenly change the world around you
No you just can't forget a feeling like that

Once burned twice shy 'fraid that love had passed by
What were the chances we'd meet
Out of the blue with one look I knew
She was the angel to make me complete
And with one perfect smile and a more perfect kiss
She took me all the way to Heaven

There are some things you just can't explain
Like a rainbow just after the rain
Like the tears that I cried when you smiled
And told me you were having our child

Traffic's bumper to bumper cars and trucks wall to wall
I figured I could either go crazy or give her a call so I gave her a call
Nothing like the sound of her voice cools me off calms me down
Makes me wanna climb on the hood of my Chevy and shout
I do believe friends I do believe I've found

Heaven on Earth Heaven on Earth
A home grown helpin' of Heaven on Earth
She looks that looks smiles that smile
I love the way she loves me while
She's holdin' my hand kissin' my kiss
I guess the only question is
What did I ever do look at me
What did I ever do to deserve Heaven on Earth

Don't know how many million people
Or how many million souls
Are out there searchin' for their very own true blue love
To have and to hold
In the meanwhile here I stand livin' large top of the world
Got me a woman when she walks my way I say here comes my girl
Man I say here comes my girl

He's 68 and brings my morning paper each day while it's dark
Then hustles off to greet folks at the Highway 9 Wal-Mart
His daughter moved back home last year with her two boys 12 and 10
Then she skipped town and left him and his wife to care for them

Used to be Superman, Johnny Bench and then George Jones
But lately I've been finding all my heroes closer to home

Every time I see a squad car or pass a firehouse
I think of brave hearts behind badges ready when the call goes out
It seems since 9/11 it's been on my mind
How they wake up every mornin' and put their lives on the line

I've got a life I'm loving got some children of my own
And some nights I tuck them and stand there in the dark alone
And I think back on my childhood and the sweet days that I had
Now I see the sacrifice it took from my mom and dad

The Good Lord went to Noah and He told him about the flood
He said Noah build Me a vessel and make it out of gopher wood
Build it big tall and strong so it won't be torn apart
Ol' Noah built Him a masterpiece and he called it Noah's ark

Didn't it rain children didn't it rain rain rain
Forty days and nights didn't it rain
Oh didn't it rain children didn't it rain rain rain
Forty days and nights didn't it rain

He had a moose and a goose and a gander
Alligator and a big hippo
A monkey and an ape a couple of snakes
A ram and a sheep and a goat
He had a possum and a coon and black baboon
An eagle and a red tail hawk
A buck and a doe a turkey and a crow
And a donkey tryin' to bark

He had leopards lions tigers bulls and a buffalo
Orangutans and little bitty things all lined up in a row
He had a dog and a cat and a gopher rat a great big grizzly bear
A mule and a cow a boar and a sow
He had two of everything in there

He had apples peaches plums and pears grapes and apricots
Peas and beans and turnip greens
He had corn and baby squash
He had a pumpkin and a big watermelon
He had every kind of weed
And just before he closed that door
He grabbed a hand full of mustard seeds

Compared to my father I'm a college boy who never learned to saw a straight line
Compared to my mother I'm a sinner who never saw the light
But I read my Bible everyday
I work my hands in wood
I ain't always done my best but I did the best I could

Compared to you I am Appalachian south
When I hear those sweet words like peaches in your mouth
I know that your roots run underneath this clay
To the place that makes a dreamer never wanna run away
Where love is rare
Love that's true
I ain't never met a woman in my life that compared to you

Compared to my brother I'm a seeker who just wanted way too much
Compared to my sister I'm a loner who is livin' out of touch
And I've got nowhere else to be
Would you like to take a walk
Or just sit here and let me hear you talk

Compared to you I am Appalachian south
When I hear those sweet words like peaches in your mouth
You talk with a drawl and I talk with a twang
But underneath it all we both mean the same thing
Where love is rare
Love that's true
I ain't never met a woman in my life that compared to you

Well now that you know all of that
Do you think that we could maybe close this gap

These two souls were up in Heaven sittin' and talkin'
He got word it was his time to go
Cause a couple down in Memphis wants a baby
And Heaven chose him oh so long ago

So he turned to her and he said I'm gonna miss you
She said don't you worry I'll be down there soon
There's a family in Tupelo praying for a daughter
And I'll be their answer in a year or two
And he said...

How will I stand Earth until you get there
I won't know a soul it'll be so strange
Wherever I go whatever I do
I'll be lookin' hard for you
How will I stand Earth until you get there

He was in his senior year down in Oxford
When a pretty junior girl walked into class
She said my name is Angel you look so familiar
He said maybe we met somewhere in the past

When she said I'm from Tupelo something happened
Next thing you know he'd asked her to be his wife
He said I've got a job waiting on me out in Dallas
When you graduate we'll start a brand new life

But how will I stand Dallas until you get there
I won't know a soul it'll be so strange
I'll be strong I'll be true
I'll be waiting there for you
How will I stand Dallas until you get there

Sixty years and eight grandchildren later
He says it looks like my time is getting close
You know I'm not afraid to meet our Maker
But I've loved you so long I just don't know

How will I stand Heaven until you get there
Without you by my side it'll be so strange
I'll hang around those pearly gates
Waitin' for your pretty face
How will I stand Heaven until you get there

These two souls were up in Heaven sittin' and talkin'...

I'm caught up in the push and shove
The daily grind burning time spinning wheels
I wonder what I'm doing here
Day to day year to year standing still
Somewhere there's a teacher with a heart that never quits
Staying after school to help some inner-city kids
A mother who's a volunteer a soldier in the fight
I can't help but ask myself when I lay down at night

Did I make a difference in somebody's life
What hurts did I heal what wrongs did I right
Did I raise my voice in defense of the truth
Did I lend my hand to the destitute
When my race is run when my song is sung
Will I have to wonder did I make a difference
Did I make a difference

I've been working hard to make a living
And forgetting what true living is
Taking more than giving something's missing
Lord how long can I go on like this
There's a lonely old man down the street and I should be ashamed
I've never been to see him I don't even know his name
There's kids without their supper in my own neighborhood
Will I look back someday and say that I did all I could