I drove all night to North Mississippi, I drove all day
to the place I call home I hope that Johnny's still
waitin' there for me, to take me beside him
and call me his own

Chorus
But it's too late now
It's too late now
The smell of magnolia is so sweet
In my mouth
And I know its too late now

Johnny got mean when he started drinkin'
And it wasn't nobody's fault when he cried
So I left one mornin' from North Mississippi
Cause I couldn't stand to tell mama I lied

Chorus

Johnny took no time to ask me to marry
And I said I would though I knew it was wrong
They played Hank Williams n North Mississippi
And I played the same girl I had all along

Chorus

Well early one mornin' in North Mississippi
I swore that I could hear somebody cry
But it wasn't my Johnny from North Mississippi
All dressed up in orange on the day that I died

Chorus
But it's too late now
It's too late now
The smell of magnolias
Now gone from my mouth
And I know its too late now