She didn't see me see her cryin'
As she sat there by the window
On a southbound Greyhound leavin' town
The hardest thing I've ever done
Was to walk away and let that woman go
'Cause she came close to turnin' me around

Now I know she missed her mama
'Cause that's the kind of life she comes from
Ain't no kind of life I'm ever gonna have
She said, she'd call me from the station
But I'll be gone before she gets there
And I'll see her every time I'm lookin' back

Heaven knows I ain't no angel
And I don't always do the right thing
And right now I know that she don't understand
But I'll sleep better knowin'
The only thing I ever loved
Is on that bus to Birmingham

Tonight I'll slip back in the shadows
And I'll sip a glass of whiskey
And I'll try to keep from whisperin' her name
But there's some highways I ain't driven
And there's some towns that I ain't lived in
And there's some times that I can't get out of the rain

And Lord I can't bear to break
Another promise that I made her
So I made out like I wanted her to go
And I'm better off believin'
That she's better off without me
'Cause I don't want her to see me do her wrong

Heaven knows I ain't no angel
And I don't always do the right thing
And right now I know that she don't understand
But I'll sleep better knowin'
The only thing I ever loved
Is on that bus to Birmingham

Heaven knows I don't always to the right thing
And right now I know that she don't understand
But I'll sleep better knowin'
The only thing I ever loved
Is on that bus to Birmingham