Would you believe this blacktop highway
Used to be a one-lane gravel road?
An' back when Johnny Cash was just somebody
Daddy went to school with years ago
When the cottonwoods reached to the sky
An' honeysuckle vine grew all around
My eyes well up with memories
Every time I think about this little ol' town

'Cause I know there's bigger cities
Full of all the sights and sounds
Where people live in fear an' lock their doors
Long before the sun goes down
The drive-in picture show's been closed for years
No superstores or midi-malls
Ah, but everyday I thank the Lord he made Dyess, Arkansas

I used to laugh at all the stories
Daddy'd tell me 'bout the mischief he'd get in
Dream of penny-candy an' nickel soda-pops
Lord, what a dollar'd buy back then
When livin' life was picture perfect
Like a Norman Rockwell paintin' of the south
Lord, I'd give almost anything
To hear my Daddy tell the stories now

He'd say
I know there's bigger cities
Full of all the sights and sounds
Where people live in fear an' lock their doors
Long before the sun goes down
The drive-in picture show's been closed for years
No superstores or midi-malls
Still, everyday I thank the Lord he made Dyess, Arkansas

Yes, I know there's bigger cities
But there ain't no better town
Folks here don't live in fear an' lock their doors
Long before the sun goes down
The population sign ain't changed in years
I guess it's destined to be small
Ah, but everyday I thank the Lord he made Dyess, Arkansas
Yeah, everyday I thank the Lord he made Dyess, Arkansas