What Keeps Me Coming Back – Life In Random Order

I wrote and recorded this song after returning from the cruise where Jen and I met in 1994 (one of several songs she inspired). It seemed like I had know her all my life, so it did not seem like I was abusing “artistic license” too much to transplant her from the PA dairy farm of her youth to my old home town in the corn fields of Illinois (Charleston, IL) and pretend “what-if” we had met there. The locations in Charlestion are real, as was the girl I was lucky enough to meet years later.

It ain’t these old dirt roads and it ain’t this old town square. It ain’t the Dog-n-Suds or the ball field on 4th and Blair. And it ain’t this old high school and it ain’t the Dairy queen. Now sure they’re places I like to go and they bring back sweet memories. But the reasons I go home ain’t about no bricks and stones

Chorus:

What keeps me coming back… It’s you, it’s you, it’s you. What keeps me coming back… It’s you, it’s you, it’s you. You keep me coming back.

I found myself on a windin’ road head back for our county line. So I drove by Mr. Walkers fields were we broke down but had a good time. Then I stopped by the soda shop were we both danced to Patsy Cline and as I walked through those diner door the memories just flooded my mind. And the reason I was there suddenly became so clear.

Chorus

Bridge:

Now the parks may turn to parking lots and they may close down town square. And the tree we carved our name into may no longer be there but no city council, or act of God can change what I call home cause the home we’ve built here in this place ain’t made of bricks and stone.

Chorus