[verse] We were kings of the coastal road Sunburned with nowhere to go A panel van, a beat-up dream And a surfboard rack full of salt and steam The cassette crackled, the tires sang Bare feet hanging out the side door frame We chased the dawn like it owed us time With the whole long summer in our eyes [Chorus ] Oh, those were the days of the open road Laughing loud with nowhere to go Surfboards on top, wind in our hair And red-headed girls in the back somewhere The world is wide and the sky is gold We were young enough to never grow old Just rolling free where the wild waves ran In a panel van summer, back when we could [Verse 2 ] Girls wore red hair like wildfire light Laughing in the heat of the afternoon bright One had freckles and a crooked grin She’d say, “Drive faster, let’s go again” We’d pull up parked by the beach at night Crickets buzzing in the fading light Someone strummed a tune on a cheap guitar And we all believed we’d go twice as far [Chorus ] Oh, those were the days of the open road Laughing loud with nowhere to go Surfboards on top, wind in our hair And red-headed girls in the back somewhere The world is wide and the sky is gold We were young enough to never grow old Just rolling free where the wild waves ran In a panel van summer, back when we could [Bridge ] Now the years roll by like a shoreline tide And the map of our youth is a blurred-out ride But I still hear that van on a summer night And I still see the sparks in the red moonlight Final Chorus Oh, those were the days of the open road Laughing loud with nowhere to go Surfboards on top, wind in our hair And red-headed girls in the back somewhere The world is wide and the sky is gold We were young enough to never grow old Just rolling free where the wild waves ran In a panel van summer, back when we could [Outro ] Yeah, the road goes on and the summers fade But that van still drives through the songs I made With the surfboards up and the back doors wide And those red-haired girls still ride beside
