(aaron tippin/michael puryear)



I've got some mighty tall tales from livin' hard and fast

I'm a walkin,' talkin,' livin,' breathin,' portrait of my past

I've double-crossed the devil, prayed the lord my soul to keep

Escaped some early graves by the skin of my teeth

All the deepest secrets of my soul the world can plainly see

'cause everything i've ever done is written all over me

If you just read between the lines of this well-weathered face of mine

Every wrinkle, every scar was a painful work of art

That reminds me of mistakes that i've made

And no story i can tell can tell it quite as well

As these souvenirs that livin's left behind

So take a long, hard look at the cover of this book

And read between the lines

And read between the lines



They might be hard to find on this rigid face of stone

There are pleasant deep impressions that are solid as gold

And i'll be the first to tell you that this ol' boy's been blessed

'cause even the worst of times have turned out for the best

Like roads on a map they cross a battered stretch of skin

You can trace your way through memory lane to anywhere i've been



If you just read between the lines of this well-weathered face of mine

Every wrinkle, every scar was a painful work of art

That reminds me of mistakes that i've made

And no story i can tell can tell it quite as well

As these souvenirs that livin's left behind

So take a long, hard look at the cover of this book

And read between the lines

And read between the lines