[Chorus]
Papa writes to Johnny
But Johnny can't come home
It's been too much time now
Too many nights on the road
Oh, too many nights on the road

[Verse 1]
Blues on the table
There's blues every week
Pourin' out of the coffee pot
With the first cup of the day
Oh, the first cup of the day

[Verse 2]
Now where are my friends
When I'm takin' the heat?
Only help I got today
Was from a stranger on the street
Oh, the stranger on the street

[Verse 3]
And why would you laugh
If you wanted to cry?
Why would you say things
If you knew it was a lie?
Oh, you knew it was a lie
[Verse 4]
Dark was the night
The cold was on the ground
I couldn't sleep
So I got up and walked around
Oh, got up and walked around

[Verse 5]
And I walked into Dallas
Crying all the way
Running over in my mind
Everything I meant to say
Oh, everything I meant to say

[Chorus]
Papa writes to Johnny
But Johnny can't come home
It's been too much time now
Too many nights on the road
Oh, too many nights on the road