HERNANDO, Miss. - A Mississippi

judge has approved a divorce settlement between Jerry Lee Lewis and his sixth wife, Kerrie Lynn McCarver Lewis.

The settlement was reached Wednesday, the same day the case was to go to trial. The judge promptly sealed the court records.

"It's been a long day and it's been an expensive day," Lewis said outside the courthouse.

Lawyers declined comment, citing the judge's order sealing the records.

Lewis, whose hits include "Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On," married McCarver in 1984. They have an 18-year-old son, Jerry Lee Lewis III.

The 69-year-old rocker will keep his 40-acre ranch near Nesbit in north Mississippi

, where the couple lived.

"Sure, I plan to live there," Lewis told The Commercial

Appeal. "It's been my home for about the past 40 years. That's

where I'm going to be."

It was the second marriage for Kerrie McCarver Lewis, 42.

J.W. Whitten, Lewis' road manager, said the settlement clears

the way for the singer to resume a regular concert schedule and

complete work on an album set for release this fall.

"We leave for Europe June 24," he said. "We needed this to be

over just so we could get back to making some money."