Between the Vellum and the Dust

[Verse 1]
I packed my truck with a paper map and a twelve-pack grin
Drove past the last grain silo where the county ends
Then the sky split open like a screen door in a storm
And I fell through a doorframe I’d never seen before
One town had blue cornfields and two moons hanging low
One world sold moon pies made of glass in a midnight snow
I learned quick in the glow of a stranger’s purple barn
Some lost roads don’t lead you home, they just carry your heart
[Chorus]
Oh, I went far, far from where I began
Chasin’ a dream through the cracks in the land
Now I’m here, here with a hand in mine
Laughin’ in the bend of a sweet strange life
If forever’s a road, I found my lane
Far, far, and I’d do it again
[Verse 2]
Underwater, the old fence posts swayed like reeds
My words came out in bubbles and they tasted like seed
The river held the moon in a silver carpenter’s shake
And every answer drifted off before I could make a mistake
A pale-faced neighbor with a star burned into her cheek
Showed me how to breathe in the hush and how to stand in the deep
She said, “Don’t fight the current, let it learn your name”
So I let the water take the fear and carry me the same
[Chorus]
Oh, I went far, far from where I began
Chasin’ a dream through the cracks in the land
Now I’m here, here with a hand in mine
Laughin’ in the bend of a sweet strange life
If forever’s a road, I found my lane
Far, far, and I’d do it again
[Verse 3]
Then I got stuck in a dim-lit corner of the nine-and-nine
Where the clocks ran sideways and the apples never ripened right
I built a chair from a crate and a broken wagon spoke
Made a home from the waiting, made a joke from the smoke
And that’s where I met her by the market in the rain
Human smile, moonlit eyes, and a heart that knew my pain
We married in a meadow by a fence line wrapped in vine
Now our little ones got two kinds of wonder in their eyes
[Bridge]
In my left coat pocket, a ring and a train ticket stub
In the glove box, a baby sock and a map of where I’d been
Top drawer: a photo of her laughing by the corn
Bottom drawer: crayon planets and a note that says “We’re home”
Kitchen drawer holds coupons, a bolt, and a broken key
Hall drawer holds a seashell from the place she first found me
Every little thing I kept turned into a sign
That the strangest winding road was leading me to life
[Chorus]
Oh, I went far, far from where I began
Chasin’ a dream through the cracks in the land
Now I’m here, here with a hand in mine
Laughin’ in the bend of a sweet strange life
If forever’s a road, I found my lane
Far, far, and I’d do it again
[Outro]
Now the porch light’s warm and the supper’s on
Little feet run wild till the day is gone
And I swear the stars look closer from this little patch of ground
I got lost in a thousand worlds and found my home in this one town
Oh, far, far, I’m exactly where I’m meant to be
With my alien bride and our family

Contemporary country ballad with warm acoustic strums, brushed drums, pedal steel sighs, and a lift on the chorus from fiddle and mandolin; spacious, road-worn verses, a glowing key change into the final refrain, male vocals, happy, country