[vocal improvisation recommended]
[Verse 1]
I tore through the backstreets,
shoes worn to the seams
[Break – 4 seconds]
Yelling “somebody save me
That midnight preacher put a little too much dream in me”
[Break – 4 seconds]
Now I’m filling notebooks
Like nobody’s ever done before
First motel that I passed, I painted “HOME” across the door
Told the folks inside there they should probably disappear
[Break – 4 seconds]
“’Cause my version of the world runs louder than yours”
And the clocks quit moving
And the ceiling started to breathe
I walked out behind the house to burn my old blue jeans
But the smoke curled up and whispered
“You can’t outrun what you believe anymore”
[Break – 4 seconds]
Well, I ain’t no prophet, but the shadows might be right
And if they are, I’ll drag them with me every night
[Chorus]
And I keep driving through the midnight light
Trying to find a place that feels like home
Every stranger got a story they defend
Every lost soul swears the ride won’t end
[Break – 4 seconds]
Ohhh, and the city sings me lullabies
Neon halos and Hollywood eyes
If I lose myself before the morning light
Just leave the radio on tonight
[Verse 2]
I drove down the coastline with a songwriter named Jean
She said, “If you wanna tell the truth
You gotta lose everything clean”
[Break – 4 seconds]
And I said, “forgive me
Now remind me what your name was again?”
Now every bar in California’s
Filled with people acting like they don’t notice the dancer
[Break – 4 seconds]
And the dancer wishing somebody did
We could disappear somewhere
Baby, if my hands weren’t full of these drinks
Something ’bout the way the blue lights hit your hair
[Break – 4 seconds]
Makes me spill all my secrets
Standing tall on the corner
Throwing cash around like I owned the city
I don’t really need nobody new, Mama
But I sure could use somewhere to go
And if you feel like riding sometime
I swear you’d never have to steal the show
[Chorus]
And I keep driving through the midnight light
Trying to find a place that feels like home
Every stranger got a story they defend
Every lost soul swears the ride won’t end
Ohhh, and the city sings me lullabies
Neon halos and Hollywood eyes
If I lose myself before the morning light
Just leave the radio on tonight
And I keep driving through the midnight light
Trying to find a place that feels like home
Every stranger got a story they defend
Every lost soul swears the ride won’t end
Ohhh, and the city sings me lullabies
Neon halos and Hollywood eyes
If I lose myself before the morning light
Just leave the radio on tonight
[Outro]
Poets in the kitchen, drinking coffee black as ink
I could’ve sworn last night I fell asleep inside my car
Now everybody’s raising glasses over me
I never leave the canyon, no, I’m trapped on every side
By people chasing glory and surviving carnival rides