Always a Road That Leads Home

Lyrics

Verse 1
The road to the church of my childhood
Was always familiar before
But now it is covered with clover
And ivy grows over the door
I left home before I was twenty
I thought I was finally free (Luke 15:12)
But the highway was eight lanes to nowhere
And a million were going with me (Matt. 7:13-14)

Chorus
There’s always a road widely traveled (Matt. 7:13)
And one you must travel alone (Matt. 7:14)
There’s always a road that is easy
And always a road that leads home (Luke 15:20-24)

Verse 2
I followed the pathway of pleasure (Luke 15:13)
That led to the city of fame
My buddies soon emptied my wallet
And left me as quick as they came (Luke 15:13)
I had nothing left but the mem’ry
Of church and the God of my youth (Luke 15:17-19)
I feared I had outrun forgiveness (Luke 15:21)
But then I remembered the truth

Repeat chorus

Audio Demo

Author & Composer

Lyrics and music by Daniel J. Mount and David Bruce Murray.

Publishing Information

Completed on September 9, 2010.

Sheet Music

Lead Sheet

Song Story

It was said in the Roman Empire that “all roads lead to Rome.” One day in 2010, I was pondering that phrase. I thought that it certainly wasn’t theologically true to say that “all roads lead home,” if we understand home in this context as Heaven. Jesus is the only way to Heaven, and nobody gets to the Father except through Him.

But, as I continued to ponder the phrase, I realized that it is true that there is always a road that leads home. No matter where we are geographically in the world, no matter what stage in our life, and no matter what our past has been, Jesus welcomes the sinner who repents. (I’m aware of the debate over whether there is an unpardonable sin; depending on where you come down in that debate, it would be the one possible exception. But this is still, at a minimum, the general rule and principle.)

I think this might have been my first-ever in-person co-write, with fellow Southern Gospel blogger and fellow church musician David Bruce Murray. Most of what I write is in Biblical language, some of which isn’t in common usage today. This is an attempt to tell the story of the Prodigal Son in a modern context in the vernacular of the common man. I couldn’t have done that without David’s help; fifteen years later, I distinctly recall that my favorite phrase in the song, “eight lanes to nowhere,” was his idea!