Intro: I remember the smell of the creosote plant when we'd have to eat on Easter with my crazy old uncle and aunt They lived in a big house Antebellum style and the wind would blow across the old bayou and I was a tranquil little child Life was just a tire swing 'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing Black-berry pickin', eatin' fried chicken and I never knew a thing about pain Life was just a tire swing In a few summers my folks packed me off to camp yeah, me and my cousin' Baxter in our pup tent with a lamp And in a few days Baxter went home, and he left me by myself And I knew that I'd stay, it was better that way and I could get along without any help (2nd chorus) Life was just a tire swing 'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing Chasin' after sparrows with rubber-tipped arrows knowin' I could never hurt a thing and life was just a tire swing And I've never been west of New Orleans nor east of Pensacola My only contact with the outside world was an R.C.A. Victrola And Elvis would sing and then I'd dream about expensive cars and who would've figured twenty years later I'd be rubbin' shoulders with the stars Life was just a tire swing Then the other morning on some Illinois road I fell asleep at the wheel But was quickly wakened up by a 'Ma Bell' telephone pole and a bunch of Grant Wood faces screaming 'Is he still alive?' But through the window I could see it hangin' from a tree and I knew that I had survived Last Chorus: Life was just a tire swing 'Jambalaya's still the best song that I sing Black-berry pickin', eatin' fried chicken And I finally learned a lot about pain 'Cause life is just a tire swing Life was just a tire swing