[Spoken Intro — Silas] "Good friend of mine wrote this one. He seems to think life has a direction. Best I can tell, life hands you a road, moves the damn shoulder, changes the weather, then acts surprised when you miss the turn. Anyway... this one's his. No Straight Lines." [amp hum] [slow dirty guitar bend] [Verse 1] Morning haze on a two-lane road Coffee warm and the engine cold Miles ahead you can't quite see The way it bends decides who you'll be You draw a line but the road won't keep Curves like memories you meant to leave Guardrails burning in the rising heat Every turn bringing something to meet Every town leaves something behind Every detour changes the ride Map says straight but the ground says no Funny thing about roads— They don't give a damn Where you planned to go [Chorus] NO STRAIGHT LINES JUST THE LONG SLOW ARCS WE LEARN TO DRIVE EVERY MILE LEAVES SOMETHING BEHIND NO STRAIGHT LINES JUST THE BENDS THAT KEEP US ALIVE WHEN THE HIGHWAY MOVES UNDER YOUR TIRES LEAN WITH IT DON'T FIGHT THE RIDE [Verse 2] Yellow paint cracked down the center seam Road signs fading like an old daydream Sometimes you swerve Sometimes you slide Sometimes getting through Is the whole damn prize And people? Hell, they're exits too Some you take Some you drive right through Some you miss Then spend years looking back Like staring in the mirror Could put 'em on the map [Pre-Chorus] Listen close The road ain't saying much But sometimes that's enough You don't gotta force What ain't opening up [Chorus] NO STRAIGHT LINES JUST THE LONG SLOW ARCS WE LEARN TO DRIVE EVERY MILE LEAVES SOMETHING BEHIND NO STRAIGHT LINES JUST THE BENDS THAT KEEP US ALIVE WHEN THE HIGHWAY MOVES UNDER YOUR TIRES LEAN WITH IT DON'T FIGHT THE RIDE [Heavy Break] [low guitar riff] I used to think A wrong turn meant I'd lost the way Then I found a few places I never would've seen If I'd stayed Funny how that works You spend half your life Trying to get somewhere Then find out The road was doing More than taking you there [Bridge — drops to slow blues] When the storm comes hard And the lights go dim Quit staring past The curve you're in Broken pavement Still gets somewhere Every scar in the road Means somebody Made it through there [Guitar Solo — wounded bends, then rises hard] [Final Chorus] NO STRAIGHT LINES JUST THE LONG SLOW ARCS WE LEARN TO DRIVE EVERY MILE LEAVES SOMETHING BEHIND NO STRAIGHT LINES JUST THE BENDS THAT KEEP US ALIVE WHEN THE HIGHWAY MOVES UNDER YOUR TIRES LEAN WITH IT DON'T FIGHT THE RIDE NO STRAIGHT LINES NO STRAIGHT LINES HELL— WOULDN'T TRUST ONE IF I FOUND ONE [Outro — almost spoken] Sunset laying gold Across the road Engine warm now Still don't know Where the hell I'm going [small laugh] Good song, though. [long guitar bend] No straight lines.
