Either way, it's clear the Old Stone Road isn't a very nice place, since the song's subject shot his friend there, likely after robbing him and taking his money. "Stone" is the kind of mellow, bluesy song the band excelled at, and the lyrics are classic Jim Morrison, in that depending on who you talk to, they're either mysterious and poetically vague, or total brainless garbage. That said, you can easily make the connection that the singer is leaving this hard-luck woman behind, only to later realize it was a big mistake. The group's Rod Stewart-esque ballad " Hard Luck Woman" sounds like a spiritual successor, albeit one with less twang and more basic acoustic guitar.
Though it's never been released, "Mistake" kind of lives on in an official KISS recording. If you enjoy old-school country about loneliness and heartbreak, and want a break from frat bros in big hats warbling on about catfish and partying with blondes in daisy dukes, a bunch of hard rockers in face paint have just the ditty for you.
That said, it's a really good country song, one that shouldn't be dismissed out of hand simply because the "Detroit Rock City" guys did it. Featuring twangy slide guitar and sad lyrics about the singer making a mistake by abandoning the love of his life, "Mistake" is more Gene Autry than Gene Simmons, and you can easily imagine a couple lonely cowboys crooning it by the campfire. "Mistake" is, without hyperbole, a country song.