[Verse 1: Arena-rock male lead, driving, huge drums and crunching guitars] I been livin' over Wade's garage for nine years on my own Never answer when it rings, I let the message take the phone Keep the neighbors at a distance and the world out past the yard Keep it all at arm's length, man, 'cause up close it gets hard Then a post comes up on Tuesday, seven years old, his name is Theo Last seen at the trailhead in the Hollins State Forest, three below And I'm in the truck before I know I've even made the choice Two hours up the county road with the radio and no voice [Pre-Hook: Arena-rock male lead, building, toms pounding] Three hundred at the fire hall, not a face I know Ruth up on a folding chair, says here's how we go [Hook: female lead sings, arena-rock male lead doubling] Reach out to your left until your fingers find a hand Arm's length to a stranger, that's the closest that we stand Call his name and take a step and do not break the line Every gap between us is a place we have to shine [Verse 2: Arena-rock male lead, harder, searing lead guitar] On my left a nurse named Dolores in a hat that's made for snow On my right a man in coveralls I'm never gonna know And we stretch out like a fence across the whole side of the hill Fingertips to fingertips, and nobody standin' still Every twenty steps we holler, Theo, and we wait to hear Thorns are tearin' at my jeans and frost is in my beard And I haven't touched a soul in years, not on purpose, not by chance Now I'm reachin' for a stranger every step like it's a dance [Hook: female lead sings, arena-rock male lead doubling] Reach out to your left until your fingers find a hand Arm's length to a stranger, that's the closest that we stand Call his name and take a step and do not break the line Every gap between us is a place we have to shine [Bridge: Arena-rock male lead, name passed down the line, voice after voice, each farther off, then the band lands on found] Theo, says Dolores, Theo, says the man Theo, down the hillside, Theo, far as it can Theo, from the ridge line, Theo, from the creek And then a little voice says here, and I can barely speak [Verse 3: Arena-rock male lead, full band, the payoff] He was curled up under a fern with his hood up, fast asleep In the gap between me and the man in coveralls, in a heap Not a scratch, just cold and sleepy, with a granola bar In the space I'd kept from people like I keep 'em near and far All my life I kept the distance and I thought that it was smart Tonight the distance was a map and he was sleepin' in its heart Then the whole line closes in on us, three hundred, hand in hand And I'm holdin' on to strangers, and for once I understand [Hook: female lead sings, arena-rock male lead doubling] Reach out to your left until your fingers find a hand Arm's length to a stranger, that's the closest that we stand Call his name and take a step and do not break the line Every gap between us is a place we have to shine [End]
