We step through the gates with our pockets of change,
Cotton-candy courage and nerves on a chain,
You laugh like you’ve done this a hundred times before,
I’m counting the bolts in the steel on the floor.
The car starts to climb, hear the click-click-click,
Every promise we made starts feeling real quick,
I tell myself, Hey, this is supposed to be fun,
But the ground disappears and the screaming’s begun.
Hold on, hands up, here we go now,
Heart in my throat but I won’t back down,
Round and around till I don’t know how
We ever get off, but we don’t slow down.
If love’s a ride, then I’m strapped in tight,
Dizzy by day, wide-awake at night,
Say it’s too much, then say it’s just right—
Hold on, hands up, enjoy the flight.
Sun-bleached summers down Tampa way,
Neon nights in Orlando rain,
Everybody knows the skyline screams,
With loops and drops and impossible dreams.
We sway like couples waiting in line,
Reading the warning signs one last time,
You say, “Trust me,” like that’s all it takes,
As the track bends hard and my courage shakes.
Hold on, hands up, here we go now,
Laughing too loud, yelling oh wow,
Are we done, then somehow
We beg for another ride right now.
If love’s a ride, then it’s fast and wild,
Grown-up fear with a kid-heart smile,
Scared half to death, but we’re reconciled—
Hold on, hands up, enjoy the ride.
From Sandusky screams by the water’s edge,
To California drops that leave you hanging on the ledge,
Some rides are famous for shaking your bones,
Some just rattle the parts you thought were stone.
We’ve been upside down, we’ve been stuck at the top,
Praying for gravity, begging it to drop,
But when the brakes hiss and the night comes through,
I’d get right back in—if it’s me and you.
Hold on, hands up, don’t look away,
This kind of love don’t come tame,
White-knuckle joy, beautiful pain,
Screaming our hearts out all the same.
If love’s a ride, I won’t play it sane,
Spin me silly, test my faith,
I’d ride it again—every twist, every shake—
Hold on, hands up…
Let it take us away.
Kaimanguy
