(Intro – Low, atmospheric acoustic guitar) (Distant fiddle harmonics, soft upright bass) (Verse 1) I wasn't running from anything, Wasn't chasing anything down. Had nowhere that I needed to be, So I took the long way out of town. Windows down on a two-lane blacktop, Radio fading in and out, Thought I'd drive until I felt like turning— Funny... I never turned around. (Verse 2) Passed a diner with an empty parking lot, Passed a church with a crooked steeple high, Passed a sign I'd swear I'd seen an hour ago, Though I couldn't tell you why. My phone lost bars somewhere behind me, Then the dashboard lost the time. Every road that should've led me north Kept bending toward the pines. (Pre-Chorus) I could've stopped. I could've turned. Could've found my way back home. But there's a difference between being lost... And feeling where you're supposed to go. (Chorus) So I took the long way home that night, Past the last electric light. Where the highway narrowed down And the Jersey pines swallowed up the sky. Something somewhere pulled me onward, Soft as a whisper, strong as a tide. I didn't know where I was going... I only knew I had to drive. (Instrumental – Banjo and fiddle, increasingly uneasy) (Verse 3) The pavement cracked beneath the headlights, White lines disappeared beneath the sand. Pines stood shoulder-deep on either side Like soldiers guarding forgotten land. No houses. No mailboxes. Not another set of lights. Just my engine and a million trees And branches scratching at the night. (Verse 4) Then I saw a wooden marker Leaning crooked by the road. Letters nearly gone from weather, Pointing somewhere I didn't know. Could've sworn it read Ong's Hat, But when I checked the mirror twice, There was nothing standing behind me But an empty road and night. (Pre-Chorus) That's when every sensible thought I had Said, Turn this damn thing around. But somewhere deeper than common sense Something whispered... Not yet. (Chorus) So I took the long way home that night, Past the reach of town and light. Where the road became a ribbon Through the oldest stretch of pine. Something somewhere knew I was coming, Something kept me between those lines. I didn't know what waited for me... (Brief pause) But it knew I was right on time. (Instrumental Break – Fiddle grows darker, low banjo pulse, distant wind) (Bridge) Then the road ended. No warning. No shoulder. No sign. Just a wall of Jersey pine. I killed the engine. For the first time all night... Everything was quiet. No crickets. No wind. No tires humming somewhere far away. And then— (Music begins slowly building) One branch moved. Then another. The trees bent back without a breeze, Roots pulling slowly from the ground. Moonlight spilled between the trunks Where there hadn't been a clearing around. And standing where the woods had been Was a building old and small, Yellow lantern burning by the door, Weathered boards and sagging walls. I stared through the windshield, wondering How I'd missed it coming in. Because there wasn't any road behind it. There wasn't any road ahead. Just pines. (Final Verse – Quiet, almost spoken) There was no name above the doorway, Just an OPEN sign inside. One warm square of amber light In miles and miles of night. I should've put the car in reverse. I should've left that place alone. Instead I opened up the door... (Music drops to near silence) And stepped inside. (Sound of an antique shop-door bell) (Brief silence) (Shopkeeper – Spoken, calm) You're right on time.
