Packed up his duffel bag
Climbed up on that bus
Left his hometown girl

In a cloud of dust
Every Sunday called her from a payphone
Went out and did his thing

Motels and guitar strings
One month turned into two
And when the tour was through

The house was cold and empty when he got back home
Yeah a hard rain washed out a gravel road


If you treat somebody like that
Well they won't be waitin' when you get back
Cause time's got a way of changing everything you know

And a heard rain washes out a gravel road

It happened in a car

With a boy she met
She cried her eyes out
When she took the test

Gave her baby girl to a foster home
Sixteen years went by
And she changed her mind

She finally tracked her down
And she took the drive
But there's not much to say to someone you've never known

And a hard rain washed out a gravel road

If you treat somebody like that

Well they won't be waitin' when you get back
Cause time's got a way of changing everything you know
And a hard rain washes out a gravel road


She's trying to cross a bridge that's burned
Two broken hearts, one lesson learned

Don't leave your love out on some highway

If you treat somebody like that

Well they won't be waitin' when you get back
Cause time's got a way of changing everything you know
And a hard rain washes out a gravel road


Oh a hard rain washes out a gravel road