[Intro: the surf guitar riff alone, then the drums and bass slam in] [Verse 1] Midnight on Mill Road, October thirty-one Pumpkins on the fence posts, every candle on My sister with the flashlight standing on the line And the water tower glowing like a sign Then a black car with no headlights comes up the hill Engine with no exhaust, and the crickets go still It's Ricky in the black one with the primer-gray door Same as the night that he hit the sycamore [Chorus] Dead heat, nose to nose at the line One of us is breathing, and one's out of time Every Halloween he pulls up beside And we ride it to a dead heat [Verse 2] Flashlight drops, and my tires start to scream Smoke off the asphalt and the fog in my beam I could take him at the bridge, I got a faster car Got a brand-new engine, I could leave him in the dark But if I win, I win the whole thing alone And he's got no reason to come back home So I lift off the gas at the edge of the light Keep my bumper even with his, just right Ricky's got his window down and his elbow out Same grin he had at nineteen, same shout [Chorus] Dead heat, nose to nose at the line One of us is breathing, and one's out of time Every Halloween he pulls up beside And we ride it to a dead heat [Verse 3] Across at the tower, and the black car's gone Just tire marks fading where the fog came on My sister walks up, and her flashlight shakes Says, a tie every year, for heaven's sakes I tell her some you win, and some you hand to God Pumpkins burning low on the fence posts, and I nod See you next October, Ricky, we're not done Leave the porch light on for the faster one [Bridge] Ricky, you were faster, you were always the one Now you're nineteen forever, and I'm forty-one Got a wife and a kid and a mortgage and a knee Once a year I'm nineteen, 'cause you come and get me [Final Chorus: he sings the intro guitar riff as the melody, the guitar doubling every note] Dead heat, nose to nose at the line One of us is breathing, and one's out of time I could win it, Ricky, but I'd win it alone So I'll see you next year in a dead heat Dead heat, door to door in the dark Two old engines and a single spark Every Halloween he pulls up beside And we ride it to a dead heat [Outro: the riff one last time, tom hits, engine roar cut clean] Fog on Mill Road, and the candles burn thin Same time next year, and nobody wins [End]
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