(Verse 1) Got rust in my fenders, got a ache in my frame, Born out in the suburbs where the winter leaves a stain. Spent years hauling gravel, taking heavy loads of stone, Just an old beat-up truck rattling down the road alone. People ask me why I'm built with only two front seats— I don't want a crowd when I'm pounding down the streets! Just one room for me and whoever's holding tight, Steering through the shadows like a lone wolf in the night. (Pre-Chorus) (Hold the wheel!) (Keep it straight!) Dragging all this mileage through the heavy Rust Belt gate. (Check the spare!) (Hold the past!) Trying to make the old times and the memories last. (Refrain) Oh, the bed is full of scars, the engine's getting loose, Still rolling down the highway through the abuse! ~*!⚡%#~ (Chorus) I am the road king, man, I’m metal, blood, and spark, Carrying your secrets through the middle of the dark. We took the Mississippi sliding down toward the south, Chasing down a whisper right out the river's mouth. But you always know the water’s gonna pull you right back home, To the shadow of the Great Lakes where the wind can roam— Where the northern waters catch you and they set your spirit free, Just an old machine and the open road for me! (Verse 2) Sometimes sitting shotgun feels as empty as can be, Just a vacant passenger seat staring back at me. Hell, sometimes you wonder who’s been driving all this time— Is it you behind the wheel, or some rhythm and some rhyme? You gotta slide across the bench and let another take the steer, When you're too damn tired of shifting through the grief and fear. And don't you leave the trunk without a spare tire in the back, 'Cause you never want to flatline on a lonely midnight track. That spare is just the memories of friends from long ago, The ones you keep on hauling down the roads you used to know. (Pre-Chorus) (Flat tire!) (Change the wheel!) Holding onto phantoms to remember how to feel. (Who's driving now?) (Is it you or fate?) Pulling into neutral at a rusted iron gate. [instrumental break] (Final Message / Outro) Look at the miles! Look at the rust! We’re turning all our history and highway down to dust! (Keep the engine hot!) (Bring the spare!) We’re heading back to Lake Michigan, baby, if you care! (Shift the gears!) (Let it roll!) An old pickup truck with a human heart and soul!
