Iris DeMent - Out of the Fire lyrics

On a gravel back road down deep in the Fall So long ago yet how well I recall My Grandpa's green truck with the rusted out rims And me on the seat between my mama and him How we rattled along until the old Ford, it stalled And mama said "Jump on out, pick you a big cotton ball" An Autumn leaf scraped it's way across the road As we were headin' back home See the proud, thrusting curve of the robin's red breast Out gathering worms to return to her nest, The lavender haze at the first light of dawn, A woman's clear voice lilting in song, And all the fine words our poets have said, The sparkling dew upon the spider's silk web, Does one matter more? Does one matter less? Who of us can say? The tents are rolled up, The revival's left town All that remains is the fine sawdust ground Still wet with the tears that fell from the eyes Of folks too far down to hang back in pride And I am there, too, like I always was Deep in the pain, strong in love Still singing my prayer to heaven above Heartfelt and true Once you were the dawn, the dusk, and the night Without the dream of holding you tight My days turned to black, I could hardly take breath I stumbled my way through a fate worse than d**h But like the Phoenix that rose right out of the fire I came back too, from a bed of desire And shook from my wings the ash from the pyre And headed back home.