The snow's blowin’ soft on the ol’ state line
Down where the river meets the pines

Grandma’s got cider steamin’ on the stove
Old barn's lit up in a Christmas glow
Red ribbons tied on the mailbox tight
Stars hangin' high in the frost-bit night

Twinklin' like a prayer through the hickory trees
Southern Ohio feels like a dream
Wrapped in flannel and peppermint steam
Firewood stacked, and the kinfolk sing
Joy to the world in a front porch swing
Ain’t no place I’d rather be
Than Christmas lights on Route 23

Johnny’s got a sleigh made of old truck parts
Tinsel strung up like Appalachian art
Snow angels carved in a cornfield bed
With a baby Jesus in the flower shed

Christmas lights on Route 23
Shinin’ through the window of the ol’ M.T.Z.
Southern Ohio, slow and sweet
Pies on the sill and boots on our feet
The creek might freeze but the hearts still beat
To the rhythm of a backroad Christmas beat
Heaven’s just a breath from me
With Christmas lights on Route 23

We don’t need no city parade
Just a woodstove, love, and the songs we made
Every light strung tells a tale
Of mistletoe hung on a split-rail

Christmas lights on Route 23
Glowin' like hope through the sycamore leaves
Southern Ohio, you’re home to me
Where the frost and the fiddle dance so free
Snow falls slow, but the joy runs deep
In every porch and every sheep barn wreath
A small-town nativity
Under Christmas lights on Route 23
Yeah, Christmas lights on Route 23...