I grew up in a town where tough was a cigaretteAnd a souped up car on a county roadNothin' much to do back then so we'd make betsOn how much drink a guy could holdAnd I held my ownI learned to hold my ownDaddy works some dead-end job at the concrete plantMama taught the Sunday Bible classFor eighteen years I remember thinkin'That there was more to life than that so I ran the streets to beat the DevilGoin' just as fast as I could fly'Cause I came here to liveI didn't come here to dieMama used to wait for me with the porch light onWorried about her little boy 'til I got homeDaddy, he'd say, "Listen son", but back then there wasn't muchThat I didn't already knowI reckon I was doing close to 80When I felt the tire slip out from underneathAnd I never set out lookin' for JesusSo I guess Jesus come lookin' for meAnd He found me upset down in a ditchSmokin' gas in my eyesAnd He said, "Son, you came here to liveYou didn't come here to die"Sunday morning I got up and I went to churchThat summer I got a job and I went to workI met a girl in town, put some money downOn a little house with a yardOur little boy was due in SeptemberBut he came early in JulyFor eighteen days all I rememberWas sittin' there at his sideSayin', "Son open up your eyesJust open up your eyes'Cause you came here to liveYou didn't come here to dieSon, you came here to live"