| When my family left Kentucky |
| Headed north for any work that they could find |
| We lived on momma's country cooking |
| While we were getting used to the city life |
| Down at the foundry where my daddy worked |
| Lord, it was hotter than a flame |
| In all the years that he put in |
| I can't remember him hearing him complain |
|
| I won't forget the school days |
| We never had to tell where we were from |
| As soon as we would say a word |
| They could hear Kentucky on our tongues |
| We took a lot of kidding |
| But looking back, I'd take it all again |
| 'Cause the ones who laughed the loudest |
| Turned out to be my very closest friends |
|
| There's so much heart in the heartland |
| The spirit that has made us grow so strong |
| It's taken me some time, but now I understand |
| The people are the heart of the heartland |
| The people are the heart of the heartland |
|
| When I go back, it looks so different |
| The changes that have come to my hometown |
| The old hotel is gone now |
| We lost some real good men when it burned down |
| Here in front of my old high school |
| I remember how I couldn't wait to leave |
| But the treasures I went searching for |
| All along were right in front of me |
|
| There's so much heart in the heartland |
| The spirit that has made us grow so strong |
| It's taken me some time, but now I understand |
| The people are the heart of the heartland |
| The people are the heart of the heartland |
|
| There's so much heart in the heartland |
| The spirit that has made us grow so strong |
| It's taken me some time, but now I understand |
| The people are the heart of the heartland |
| The people are the heart of the heartland |
|