[Verse 1] Pulled off where the highway bends Rusty sign leans in the weeds Corner store is all glass and chrome now But it still smells like summer sweets That oak tree lost a heavy limb Swing still creaks in the same old wind I trace my name carved in the bark Half worn down But it won't give in [Chorus] Funny how the backroads remember my name Even when the houses change their face What I used to swear I'd leave behind Waits for me in every cracked white line World moves on But the gravel stays And my heart comes back the same [Verse 2] Bleachers by the football field Traded paint for polished steel Scoreboard's bright But I still see Your jacket wrapped around me Your mama's porch is painted blue Mailbox leans like it always used to She says I grew up in my eyes But I still trip on my goodbyes [Chorus] Funny how the backroads remember my name Even when the houses change their face What I used to swear I'd leave behind Waits for me in every cracked white line World moves on But the gravel stays And my heart comes back the same [Bridge] Whole new faces at my old bus stop Different laughter Same dust on their socks I smile at a life that might've been Then drive that loop one more time again [Chorus] Funny how the backroads remember my name Even when the houses change their face What I used to swear I'd leave behind Waits for me in every cracked white line World moves on But the gravel stays And my heart comes back the same