[INTRO — 64 BPM | SPARSE COUNTRY BALLAD] [DRY JAPANESE SHAMISEN — REPEATING THREE-NOTE FIGURE] [LOW BASS | DISTANT LONELY HARMONICA] [NO DRUMS | WEATHERED MALE BARITONE] [RAW, EMOTIONAL VOCAL — FULL AND CLEAR] [VERSE 1] There's a highway disappearing In the mirror of my truck, And another one unfolding Through the morning mist and dust. Every mile makes you smaller, Every turn lets in some light. I spent too long believing That leaving couldn't make things right. There's a suitcase on the back seat, And a coffee going cold. Everything I used to call my future Is somewhere down that road. [HARMONICA — LOW, MOURNFUL ANSWER] [CHORUS 1 — RESTRAINED] The road behind keeps fading, The road ahead runs free. And the man I was this morning Ain't the man I'm gonna be. Got nothing left to lose now, No promises, no chains. And nothing left to lose Means everything to gain. [SHAMISEN — THREE-NOTE FIGURE RETURNS] [VERSE 2] Janis came across the radio, Singing 'bout the price of being free. And I listened to that old familiar wisdom Like she wrote those words for me. Freedom's just another way To say you've nothing left to lose. But I looked beyond the windshield At a thousand roads to choose. And somewhere past the county line, With the sunlight through the rain, I figured having nothing left to lose Means everything to gain. [HARMONICA — ♭3→3 | FIRST HINT OF MAJOR] [CHORUS 2 — 70 BPM | BRUSHED SNARE ENTERS] The road behind keeps fading, The road ahead runs free. And the man I was this morning Ain't the man I'm gonna be. Got nothing left to lose now, No promises, no chains. And nothing left to lose Means everything to gain. [INSTRUMENTAL — SHAMISEN AND HARMONICA] [SHAMISEN DRY PLUCKS | HARMONICA ANSWERS] [BASS WARMS | BRUSHED SNARE BEHIND THE BEAT] [BRIDGE — INTIMATE, REFLECTIVE] I've never seen the place I'm going, Never walked its streets before. Don't know what waits beyond the highway, Don't know what's behind that door. But I know what I left behind me. I know what that sorrow cost. And the farther that I drive tonight, The less I feel I've lost. Maybe love is waiting somewhere. Maybe all I'll find is rain. But whatever waits beyond that sunrise Has to beat that old familiar pain. [SHORT INSTRUMENTAL LIFT] [SHAMISEN FIGURE RESOLVES TO MAJOR] [HARMONICA — WARM, RISING PHRASE] [VERSE 3 — 76 BPM | HOPEFUL] The sun's climbing up the windshield, There's a blue sky coming through. And for once I'm looking forward To a day without you. No more wondering what went wrong, No more asking who to blame. Just an open road ahead of me And everything to gain. [FINAL CHORUS — FULL BUT SPARSE COUNTRY] The road behind keeps fading, The road ahead runs free. And the man I was this morning Is becoming who I'll be. Got nothing left to lose now, No promises, no chains. And nothing left to lose Means everything to gain. [OUTRO — SHAMISEN + HARMONICA ONLY] [RETURN TO ORIGINAL THREE-NOTE FIGURE, NOW MAJOR] In the mirror, yesterday Is disappearing in the rain. Ahead of me, the highway opens. And I've got everything to gain. [ONE WARM HARMONICA NOTE] [SHAMISEN RESOLVES ON TONIC] [END — NO FADE]
