Raised in Velma, Oklahoma, Diffie worked in a foundry while playing local nightclubs in Oklahoma and moved to Nashville in 1986 to work for Gibson Guitar Corporation.
His first album arrived in 1990 when country music was thriving commercially and creatively. His first single, a sensitive traditional country ballad, Home, reached No. 1, although Diffie quickly counted on novelty hits to sustain his career. For instance, his other No. 1 hits are Pickup Man, Bigger Than the Beatles, Third Rock From the Sun and If the Devil Danced (In Empty Pockets). Toward the end of the 1990s, Diffie lost his chart momentum and left Epic Records following his 2001 album, In Another World. Subsequently, he toured with Mark Chesnutt and Tracy Lawrence on the Rockin' Roadhouse tour.
In 2013, Diffie collaborated with Aaron Tippin and Sammy Kershaw on the album All in the Same Boat, and cut the single "Girl Riding Shotgun" with D Thrash of the Jawga Boyz. This was followed in 2019 by a vinyl album called Joe, Joe, Joe Diffie.
Diffie passed away from complications of coronavirus (COVID-19) on March 29, 2020.
You Can't Go Home
Joe Diffie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I lived here not that long ago
She told me that she loved this little frame house
So I saved up some money and put a payment down
Right over there in that front porch swing
We held hands and we dreamed a dream or two
That sure looks like the same ol' door
Please, bring her back to me
I came lookin' for a feelin' but the feelin's gone
You can go back but you can't go home
I wonder if they'd mind if I wandered around inside
I'm feelin' kinda low and it's been such a long, long time
I'd like to get a good look at what our life used to be
But there's one bedroom I can't bear to see
Right over there in that front porch swing
We held hands and we dreamed a dream or two
That sure looks like the same ol' door
Where I kissed her goodbye a thousand times before
Please, bring her back to me
I came lookin' for a feelin' but the feelin's gone
You can go back but you can't go home
It's where it started
Home it's where the heart is
Home is where I lost it
Home, it's so hard to find again
Right over there in that front porch swing
We held hands and we dreamed a dream or two underneath the moon
That sure looks like the same ol' door
Where I kissed her goodbye a thousand times before
Please, bring her back to me
I came lookin' for a feelin' but the feelin's gone
You can go back but you can't go home
Oh, you can go back but you can't go home
The song "You Can't Go Home" by Joe Diffie tells the story of a man who returns to his hometown hoping to rekindle some of the feelings and memories from his past. He had lived in the town not long ago, and while he was there, he fell in love with a woman who felt the same way about the town that he did. They dreamed of a future together, sitting on the front porch swing of their little frame house. He left town and now is back, hoping to recapture some of that remembered magic. However, upon his return he realizes that things are never the same twice. The house that they had once sat on the porch swing dreaming in is still there, as well as the same door that he had kissed her goodbye a thousand times before, but he can't go back to the feeling he once had.
The melancholic lyrics of the song show us that even though home is where the heart is, life moves forward and things change. Sometimes, it's difficult to recapture feelings and moments that have passed, and that's just the nature of things. This is what the singer of the song is experiencing, the realization that he can't go back to the way things were.
Line by Line Meaning
My name ain't someone they would know
I am not famous in this town
But I lived here not that long ago
I used to live in this town not so long ago
She told me that she loved this little frame house
My lover expressed her love for this small wooden house
So I saved up some money and put a payment down
I saved enough money to put a down payment on the house
Right over there in that front porch swing
On that front porch swing over there
We held hands and we dreamed a dream or two
We sat together holding hands and shared our hopes and dreams
That sure looks like the same ol' door
It appears that the door has not been changed
Where I kissed her goodbye a thousand times before
The same door where I said goodbye to her countless times
Please, bring her back to me
I wish she was here with me again
I came lookin' for a feelin' but the feelin's gone
I hoped to relive a certain feeling, but that feeling is not present anymore
You can go back but you can't go home
You can revisit a place, but you cannot go back to the way things used to be
I wonder if they'd mind if I wandered around inside
I wonder if anyone would object to me exploring the inside of the house
I'm feelin' kinda low and it's been such a long, long time
I am feeling down and it has been a significant amount of time since I have been here
I'd like to get a good look at what our life used to be
I want to see what our life was like in the past
But there's one bedroom I can't bear to see
There is one bedroom that I cannot bring myself to enter
It's where it started
That is where our story began
Home it's where the heart is
Home is where love resides
Home is where I lost it
I lost my love in this home
Home, it's so hard to find again
It is difficult to find the feeling of home again
We held hands and we dreamed a dream or two underneath the moon
We sat holding hands and shared our dreams under the moonlight
Oh, you can go back but you can't go home
It is possible to return, but home as it once was will never be the same
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., RESERVOIR MEDIA MANAGEMENT INC
Written by: JOE DIFFIE, LONNIE WILSON, ZACK TURNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind