She was leaving Iowa
Daddy said she was wasting her time
Chasing rainbows and dreams she was never gonna find
He had his own plans for her life
Said this road won't take you far
And don't bother coming back
When they don't make you a star
That Tennessee river echoes the endless blue sky
Those dogwoods in spring
Make you ready to leave everything behind
For that music highway
That leads you to the center of the state
If it could speak it'd tell you
How many hearts it's seen break
Hearts that said I'll show that old Ryman stage
What it ain't ever seen
You just wait, I'm gonna be the next big thing
He was working in Beaumont
Doing everything he could to fill
That little bar from wall to wall
Just to make a 50 dollar bill
Nobody heard him when he said
I'm leaving tonight for music row
If I'm ever gonna be someone
Those men in Nashville ought to know
That Tennessee river echoes the endless blue sky
Those dogwoods in spring
Make you ready to leave everything behind
For that music highway
That leads you to the center of the state
If it could speak it'd tell you
How many hearts it's seen break
Hearts that said I'll show that old Ryman stage
What it ain't ever seen
You just wait, I'm gonna be the next big thing
Every day a line of crushed hearts leave that city
And every night a new line of hopefuls come driving in
That Tennessee river echoes the endless blue sky
Those dogwoods in spring
Make you ready to leave everything behind
For that music highway
That leads you to the center of the state
If it could speak it'd tell you
How many hearts it's seen break
Hearts that said I'll show that old Ryman stage
What it ain't ever seen
You just wait, I'm gonna be the next big thing
Daddy said she was wasting her time
Chasing rainbows and dreams she was never gonna find
He had his own plans for her life
Said this road won't take you far
And don't bother coming back
When they don't make you a star
That Tennessee river echoes the endless blue sky
Those dogwoods in spring
Make you ready to leave everything behind
For that music highway
That leads you to the center of the state
If it could speak it'd tell you
How many hearts it's seen break
Hearts that said I'll show that old Ryman stage
What it ain't ever seen
You just wait, I'm gonna be the next big thing
He was working in Beaumont
Doing everything he could to fill
That little bar from wall to wall
Just to make a 50 dollar bill
Nobody heard him when he said
I'm leaving tonight for music row
If I'm ever gonna be someone
Those men in Nashville ought to know
That Tennessee river echoes the endless blue sky
Those dogwoods in spring
Make you ready to leave everything behind
For that music highway
That leads you to the center of the state
If it could speak it'd tell you
How many hearts it's seen break
Hearts that said I'll show that old Ryman stage
What it ain't ever seen
You just wait, I'm gonna be the next big thing
Every day a line of crushed hearts leave that city
And every night a new line of hopefuls come driving in
That Tennessee river echoes the endless blue sky
Those dogwoods in spring
Make you ready to leave everything behind
For that music highway
That leads you to the center of the state
If it could speak it'd tell you
How many hearts it's seen break
Hearts that said I'll show that old Ryman stage
What it ain't ever seen
You just wait, I'm gonna be the next big thing