Long Time Gone
| "Long Time Gone" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"Long Time Gone" is a country song by Darrell Scott, published on the 2000 album Real Time which Scott recorded together with Tim O'Brien. The song was covered by the Dixie Chicks in their 2002 album Home, despite having been written from a male point of view. It became a big hit single for the Chicks, reaching number 2 on the US Hot Country chart and number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart.
The song chronicles a young man's journey away from his family farm to Nashville to become a musician, and eventually back to his hometown, where he settles down to raise a family. The song's last verse criticizes contemporary country music as having no soul, referencing several famous country musicians:
Now they sound tired but they don't sound haggard / They got money but they don't have cash / They got junior but they don't have Hank...
Despite its upbeat bluegrass melody, the song's lyrics resolve to a very pessimistic outlook on the future of music.