Letters from the Road Lyrics

Flashing in the Dark (Rose Island Lighthouse) (Hanson)

I’m 18 acres of wild country here
With wild summer roses in my hair
I weathered the winter in wind and snow
Oh, that old North wind did blow

I’m swaying with the rockweed in this liquid frontier
I can hear the buzz of boats humming in my ears
There are those who care for me
In this bay near the mouth of the sea

Chorus:
But, I’ve been flashing in the dark
Sending out a signal to another heart
Got messages in bottles floating over waves
But, there’s miles and miles of ocean,
And I’m just another soul looking to be saved

My edges are ragged and rougher than most
But, I fit just like a puzzle piece into your coast
Well, the water is wide, and the currents are swift
I’m just another casualty of the continental drift

Chorus:
But, I’ve been flashing in the dark
Sending out a signal to another heart
Got messages in bottles floating over waves
But, there’s miles and miles of ocean,
And I’m just another soul looking to be saved
Another soul looking to be saved

Drinking to Distraction (Hanson)

Well, I should have heard you rev your ride
When you pulled your engine up beside
In your silver hubcap hot-rod ride that day
Stars blinking on to be my guide
Technicolor sky stretched out so wide
I never saw you steal my heart away

Now, I sit here in this Country bar
Instead of in the back seat of your dream car
Fogging up my brain—instead of windows

Chorus:
Been drinking to distraction
Losing all my traction
Folding like a suitcase full of worn-out clothes
Can’t let go, oh

And, it’s that speeding, hollow highway sound
Travlin’ through my tires on the ground
We’re always lost before we’re found, my friend
And, I’ve been known to fool around
On that roller coaster ride of rebound
But, I never leave those heart strings as loose ends

Now, I sit here in this Country bar
Instead of in the back seat of your dream car
Fogging up my brain—instead of windows

Chorus:
Been drinking to distraction
Losing all my traction
Folding like a suitcase full of worn-out clothes
Can’t let go, oh

Well, somewhere in this heart of mine
Or in the bottom of this glass of wine,
I’ll find another reason to stop missing you
Can’t keep waiting for you to ring my line
It’s the middle of the night says the clock with its chime
It’s that lonely witching hour when I let those
memories through

Chorus:
Been drinking to distraction
Losing all my traction
Can’t let go
Drinking to distraction
Losing all my traction
Can’t let go, oh

The Rock and the Echo (Hanson)

Deep waves are breaking
Must have seemed I had a heart worth taking
Here with the weeds under the water,
I am the mermaid’s daughter, and …

Chorus:
I’ll pull you in by your heart
I’ll pull you in by your heart

Caught between the rock and the echo,
I’m the climber from so long ago
Looking out for the lover
Ever caught in currents and the mist below, oh …

Chorus:
I’ll pull you in by your heart
I’ll pull you in by your heart

Oh, I’ll sing you the sweetest song
Slip you visions as you row along
We could swim with the river to the sea
As long as you give your love to me

Lost all my reason
This river keeps flowing season after season
Bring on the weather
Wash every trace of love from this place, and …

Chorus:
I’ll pull you in by your heart
I’ll pull you in by your heart
I’ll pull you in by your heart

One More Glass of Wine (Hanson)

There are no lights along the road
This river rolls to the sea, I’m told
Pull on your coat. It’s getting cold
The leaves have turned from green to gold

Hear that wind blow through the pines
I like to cross the yellow lines
Tell all my friends I’m doin’ fine
So many hills left to climb

Chorus:
Let’s have another glass of wine
Before we fall and rise in time
One more glass before I pull your heart to mine

You could have me for a Country song
Play your guitar, and I’ll sing along
Can’t remember why this love is wrong
I was home one day. Then, I was gone

This candle burns like the Northern Lights
I used to sleep all through the night
I could drift off without a fight
Now, these old ghosts won’t leave my sight

Chorus:
Let’s have another glass of wine
Before we fall and rise in time
One more glass before I pull your heart to mine

Chorus:
Let’s have another glass of wine
Before we fall and rise in time
One more glass before I pull your heart to mine

Chorus:
Let’s have another glass of wine
Before we fall and rise in time
One more glass before I pull your heart to mine

Truck Song (Hayes)

I got a new truck
Three-hundred bucks
I got it from a friend
It’s got a little bit of rust,
but I think I can trust it
to get me down the road again

After registration,
I went for an inspection
(The) inspector had a lot to say
He told me ‘bout his ‘75 Plymouth Grand Fury
then he gave my truck the OK
“That’s the New Hampshire Way”

I got a new truck
Great little truck
Hubcaps still intact
With the bodywork I’m doing to it
then it shouldn’t look like
a rolling heart attack

Light Desert Tan that’s the color of my truck
8Q the color code
With a new alternator and rubber all around,
It puts me into road-trip mode
Yeah, it puts me into road-trip mode
“Woo-hoo”

I got a new truck
Three-hundred bucks
I got it from a friend
It’s got a little bit of rust,
but I think I can trust it
to get me down the road again

Black Cat Café (Hanson)

I’m searchin’ for the Black Cat Café
I’m somewhere near the banks of the Danube River
I’ve left behind the gold duvets
and the dark, paneled walls
for the black of the night
and the sparkle of the city

Chorus:
Let’s meet and have a drink and talk about
the ancient past—the missing link and what
you think about treasures found in distant lands
Come take my hand and lead the way
I’m searchin’ for the Black Cat Café

I’ve got this map, but I don’t know how to read it
I wish the birds on the bridge could show the way
Ah, but now I see that they’re just bronze—
a legend from mythology. I’m still on my way—
just wait at the Black Cat Café

Chorus:
Let’s meet and have a drink and talk about
the ancient past—the missing link and what
you think about treasures found in distant lands
Come take my hand and lead the way
Bring me to the Black Cat Café

The Last Orange (Hanson)

Well, I was ruined in this dark
They say once I had a heart
Now, it’s just some broken, mixed-up part
This is how the heart works
A ticking time bomb under our shirts
Wired to the get-away car

Chorus:
So, my core turned to iron
My heart exploded like a star
I could not hold myself against these forces
(I) was a black hole being born,
A tall building in a thunderstorm,
A dark soul that you can’t reform
This is how the heart works

You have such a pull on me. Please remember me
At least something’s calling me even if it’s only the road
We keep orbiting each other. Like a planet and its moon
But, I knew you once. We shared these rooms

Chorus:
So, my core turned to iron
My heart exploded like a star
I could not hold myself against these forces
(I) was a black hole being born,
A tall building in a thunderstorm,
A dark soul that you can’t reform
This is how the heart works

All that’s left are some random pictures and a tape cassette,
the last orange, and empty rooms chock-full of regret.
And, who am I kidding? It’s time to start liv’n outside my mind.
Twenty years later, gonna hop that freighter, leave it all behind

Chorus:
And, my core turned to iron
My heart exploded like a star
I could not hold myself against these forces
(I) was a black hole being born,
A tall building in a thunderstorm,
A dark soul that you can’t reform
This is how the heart works
This is how the heart works

Boxcar Betty (Hanson)

I’ve slipped into the boxcar
with my rucksack and some wine
There sounds the highball whistle,
and we’re rushing down the line

Cold steel’s creeping through
my clothes into my loins,
but my hands are warm from
carving pictures on these coins

There’s a cross on the signal post
Gonna find some “angel food”
And, the sign of the cat
maybe get me in the mood

It’s a code that you learn
when you’re riding on the rails,
when you’re squatting down in boxcars,
and following the trails

Chorus:
Well, I’m no Boxcar Betty,
but don’t wish me no harm
I’ve got no home or fam’ly
I’m just trying to stay warm

Gonna sleep on the beach
with a fire at my side—
feel the pull and the release
of the endless ocean tide

At the first light of the morning,
I’ll be on my way again—
slipping into boxcars
and sleeping now and then

There’s a cross on the signal post
Gonna find some “angel food”
And, the sign of the cat
maybe get me in the mood

It’s a code that you learn
when you’re riding on the rails,
when you’re squatting down in boxcars,
and following the trails

Chorus:
Well, I’m not tough like Betty,
but don’t give me no grief
My aim is strong and steady,
and I’m full of faith and belief

Chorus:
No, I’m no Boxcar Betty,
but don’t wish me no harm
I’ve got no home or fam’ly
And, I’m just trying to stay warm

Sweet Celia Ann (aka Mattie Earp) (Hanson)

She worked the tables at the local saloon
Made her money getting cowboys loaded in the fading light of the afternoon
He was a law man from a frontier town
He could settle a hoorah without ever hitting the hammer down

She wore a feather in her long, golden hair
Her smile could spark a fire in a holy house of common prayer
He took her by her small hand and brought her to his home
He promised her his true love—His heart never more to ramble and roam

Chorus:
Once upon a time in the Wild, Wild West,
Gamblers and gunmen put their courage to the test
If you woke up in the morning, you were truly blessed
And, you lived another day in the Wild, Wild West

They traveled off together as a husband and his wife
They followed the cards and the chips and the money as a way of life
But by the springtime, he had found another girl
She had to put that feather back into those fading curls

Chorus:
Once upon a time in the Wild, Wild West,
Gamblers and gunmen put their courage to the test
If you woke up in the morning, you were truly blessed
And, you lived another day in the Wild, Wild West

She awoke one morning in a dusty, one-room shack.
Beside her was a stranger—How did her life get so off track?
So, she sipped some laudanum from a tarnished, silver spoon
Evermore to slumber ‘neath the shadow of a golden moon

Chorus:
Once upon a time in the Wild, Wild West,
Gamblers and gunmen put their courage to the test
If you woke up in the morning, you were truly blessed
And, you lived another day in the Wild, Wild West

Chorus:
Once upon a time in the Wild, Wild West,
Gamblers and gunmen put their courage to the test
If you woke up in the morning, you were truly blessed
And, you lived another day in the Wild, Wild West

The 43 (USS Tappahannock) (Hayes)

I received your long, long letter today,
and I was glad to hear you’re doing okay
I left Virginia ‘round the middle of August,
found myself at Aruba Bay

We took a load of oil and headed for Cologne,
through the blue Pacific’s great unknown
With a stop in Panama, and through the canal,
wishing all the while I was home

Your kid brother helped the wounded,
stood watch over twenty-five dead,
saw U.S. blood spilled on U.S. decks,
in the battle at Espirito Santo

We dropped the hook, New Cadelonia Island,
and there we fueled the fleet
Then off to Aukland for another load,
after two days this trip was complete

Pago Pago to the Fiji Islands,
our crew made many long trips
The merchant tankers filled the 43,
then we gave our fuel to the fighting ships

Your kid brother helped the wounded,
stood watch over twenty-five dead,
saw U.S. blood spilled on U.S. decks,
in the battle at Espirito Santo

Late October and our big moment came,
we were sent up to New Hebrides
We met the USS San Francisco,
the best that ever sailed the seas

We took a load of oil and headed for Cologne,
through the blue Pacific’s great unknown
With a stop in Panama, and through the canal,
Wishing all the while I was home

In the Blue Room (Hanson)

Under starlight comes the big night
I’ll gently rock you ‘til dreams fill your eyes
In the blue room shines a full moon
Sleep now my darlings until the sunrise
You’ll be there soon by the gold moon

Chorus:
Just steer your ship to the hip of Orion
Slip past the dog and the bear
Fly through the fish—make a wish on a shooting star
Glide by the crab with great care
Drift by the bull if you dare

May the black dome guide your way home
Just let the stars be your map in the sky
I’ll be right here in the green chair
When you awaken I’ll be by your side
You’ll be here soon in the blue room

Chorus:
Just steer your ship to the hip of Orion
Slip past the dog and the bear
Fly through the fish—make a wish on a shooting star
Glide by the crab with great care
Drift by the bull if you dare
Come home and I’ll meet you there

Letters from the Road (Hanson)

I’ll send you letters from the road
And postcards from motels
This heart beats out S.O.S in code
In the Winter light, I skid through snow

The wipers are my soundtrack
I’m just looking for a little love back
But, the road ahead is coal black
Held on here by gravity
Do you ever think of me?

Chorus:
And, it’s a long way
to drive in one day
Two-lane highways
and truck-stops, “Hey,
are you going my way?”
“What do you say?”

This road is never ending
Do you feel the love I’m sending?
This heart of mine needs tending
I’m fading like the station, oh
playing on my radio

Chorus:
And, it’s a long way
to drive in one day
Two-lane highways
and truck-stops, “Hey,
are you going my way?”
“What do you say?”

Chorus:
And, it’s a long way
to drive in one day
Two-lane highways
and truck-stops, “Hey,
are you going my way?”
“What do you say?”