This song is about a homeless man freezing in the cold who would rather die believing in the paradise in his mind than be rescued to live another day.
The lyrics of “Almost Home” open up with a scene of the narrator discovering an unhoused person out in the cold:
“He had plastic bags wrapped ’round his shoes / He was covered with the evening news / Had a pair of old wool socks on his hands / The bank sign was flashin’ five below / It was freezing rain and spittin’ snow / He was curled up behind some garbage cans”
Craig Morgan‘s detailed description of the man serves to humanize him while painting a harshly realistic picture. Plastic bags are often a readily available resource with which the man attempts to keep his feet dry. The “evening news” refers to the newspaper he uses as a makeshift blanket.
An Unwelcome Rescue
The unhoused man speaks as if Morgan’s character, in his attempt to rescue the man, unceremoniously pulled him from an idyllic scene in another time and place. This was where his mind just was before the narrator showed up, in spite of his dire circumstances.
The old man repeatedly alludes to the fact that he would rather finish his journey over to the other side rather than be saved and have to suffer in this life for longer. In the meantime, he experiences what heaven feels like, built around childhood memories.
One Man’s Paradise
In the chorus of “Almost Home,” Morgan lets the listener in on the details of this man’s hallucination. Through his description, it becomes clear that he’s reliving childhood memories: something as close to heaven as he could get in this world.
“He said, ‘I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree / I was runnin’ from some honey bees / Drip-dryin’ in the summer breeze / After jumpin’ into Calico Creek / I was walkin’ down an old dirt road / Past a field of hay that had just been mowed / Man I wish you’d just left me alone / ‘Cause I was almost home'”
In the second verse, the old man’s blurred reality has taken over more of his senses. The hallucination even brings back memories of the scent of his mother’s cooking:
“Then he said, ‘I’s just comin’ ’round the barn’ / ‘Bout the time you grabbed my arm / When I heard mama holler, ‘Son, hurry up’ / I was close enough for my old nose / To smell fresh cobbler on the stove / And I saw daddy loadin’ up the truck”
A Final Plea
In the bridge, Morgan’s character offers his help and underlines the danger that the poor soul would be in if he stayed out there any longer. Still, the old man reiterates that he wants to be left to die because he believes so strongly in the heaven that’s waiting for him. In fact, he can already see it, feel it and even smell it.
“I said, ‘Old man you’re gonna freeze to death / Let me drive you to the mission’ / He said, ‘Boy, if you’d’ve left me alone / Right now I’d be fishin'”
Lyrics
He had plastic bags wrapped ’round his shoes
He was covered with the evening news
Had a pair of old wool socks on his hands
The bank sign was flashing five below
It was freezing rain an’ spittin’ snow
He was curled up behind some garbage cans
I was afraid that he was dead
I gave him a gentle shake
When he opened up his eyes
I said, “Old man are you ok?”
He said, I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree
I was runnin’ from some honey bees
Drip dryin’ in the summer breeze
After jumpin’ into Calico creek
I was walkin’ down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you’d just left me alone
‘Cause I was almost home
Then he said, I was just comin’ round the barn
‘Bout the time he grabbed my arm
When I heard momma holler, son hurry up
I was close enough for my own nose
To smell fresh cobbler on the stove
And I saw daddy loadin’ up the truck
Cane poles on the tailgate
Bobbers blowin’ in the wind
Since July of ’55
That’s as close as I’ve been
Yeah, I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree
I was runnin’ from some honey bees
Drip dryin’ in the summer breeze
After jumpin’ into Calico creek
I was walkin’ down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you’d just left me alone
I was almost home
I said, “Old man you’re gonna freeze to death
Let me drive you to a mission”
He said, “Boy if you’d left me alone
Right now I’d be fishin’
I just climbed out of a cottonwood tree
I was runnin’ from some honey bees
Drip dryin’ in the summer breeze
After jumpin’ into Calico creek
I was walkin’ down an old dirt road
Past a field of hay that had just been mowed
Man I wish you’d just left me alone
‘Cause I was almost home (almost home)
Man I wish you’d just left me alone
I was almost home
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Craig Morgan / Kerry Kurt Phillips
Almost Home lyrics © BMG Rights Management