[Verse 1]
I woke up with mud on my cuffs
And your note pinned soft to the door
Said, "Don’t wait up on my account"
That’s a trick I’d heard before

Your blue coat still hung by the nails
By the tin sink, bent at the seam
I poured two cups from the chipped white pot
And drank from the one meant for me

[Pre-Chorus]
The mill creek runs brown in spring
It takes what it wants from the bank
And I’ve been a fool for a long, long while
But I still know how to thank

[Chorus]
Oh, riverbed boots, keep walking on
Riverbed boots, keep walking on
If the road won’t love me back
I’ll still sing my broken song

Oh, riverbed boots, keep walking on
Riverbed boots, keep walking on
I’ve lost more than I can name
Still I’m standing where I belong

[Verse 2]
At the county fair, the small brass band
Played loud by the ferris wheel
You laughed with a peach in your hand
Like the whole world could heal

Now the trailer park dogs bark at dusk
And the screen door moans on its hinge
I patch my coat with a safety pin
And hear your name in the wind

[Pre-Chorus]
The mill creek runs cold by fall
It mirrors the ash in the sky
I’ve buried pride in the garden rows
And watched it learn to lie

[Chorus]
Oh, riverbed boots, keep walking on
Riverbed boots, keep walking on
If the road won’t love me back
I’ll still sing my broken song

Oh, riverbed boots, keep walking on
Riverbed boots, keep walking on
I’ve lost more than I can name
Still I’m standing where I belong

[Bridge]
I don’t need gold, I don’t need grace
Just a lamp in the shed and rain
One honest hand on the barnwood rail
And a little less of this pain

So if you find me down by the bend
With my pockets full of stones
I’ll be smiling through the weathered teeth
Like a man who found his bones

[Chorus]
Oh, riverbed boots, keep walking on
Riverbed boots, keep walking on
If the road won’t love me back
I’ll still sing my broken song

Oh, riverbed boots, keep walking on
Riverbed boots, keep walking on
I’ve lost more than I can name
Still I’m standing where I belong