I took a ride past the silos and the cranes Down where the city ends and the quiet remains She said, "This place is made of mirrors and mistakes" I said, "No — it's built on thousands lakes" There’s a boy on the corner with a cardboard sign It reads: “Looking for heaven, or at least a good line” The neon flickers, then it breaks Like a heartbeat lost in the thousands lakes Thousands lakes, thousands lies Reflections of the same old sky You dive in deep, you come out strange Something in you’s bound to change She wore boots too big and dreams too thin And talked like a poem no one could pin She said, "Love is just a war that never takes" Then she vanished into the thousands lakes They say water remembers But I don’t know I’ve tried to forget And it never let go Thousands lakes, thousands names Some are still, some burst in flames You call it peace, I call it ache Either way — it’s just thousands lakes So pour another drink, let the record play Lou's on the stereo, and I'm drifting away No maps, no brakes Just ghosts and sound And thousands lakes
