Screen door sighs, I step outside Crickets loud then softer tide Old guitar with the chipped headstock Waits on the chair like it never left I sit down soft, no pick tonight Just thumb and nails in pale moonlight First chord rings wrong, then rings true Like it was waiting on me too I’m out here now No stage, no eyes Just moths around the light The night pulls the melody through Soon as I loosen my hold on it I’m out here now Nothing to sell Just letting it swell The night pulls the melody through Neighbor’s dog barks once, then still Wind moves the pines across the hill I don’t force the change, don’t plan I let the progression shift its hand Halfway through I forget the name Of the song I thought I came to play It turns into something older, slow Something I half remember, half know I’m out here now Not playing, just along Letting it stay too long I’m out here now The dark takes half the weight The night pulls the melody through When I stop trying to steer it straight Dew starts settling on the strings Fingers cool, everything clings A freight train moans three miles away The low note answers, has its say I lean back slow against the post Feel the boards remember every ghost Of every night I sat right here Chasing silence, chasing clear No need to end it, no need to start It’s already moving through my heart I close my eyes, let the tempo drift Like smoke that doesn’t need a lift I’m out here now Barely holding on Breathing through it The night pulls the melody through Carrying me along I’m out here now Further than I planned Strings still in my hands The night pulls the melody through Last note hangs, then drops away Crickets come back, have their say I set the guitar against the rail Walk inside without a tale Morning light will creep across the floor Ask what that long night was for I’ll shrug and let the quiet out Some melodies don’t need words to talk about They just sit with you till dawn turns blue And leave a little piece of you Out there on the porch alone Still humming soft Still drifting on its own
