Pacific Paradise - 1. Higher Sun

[Intro — a cappella, five-part harmony] Higher sun, carry me Past the blue, beyond the sea Higher sun, where we run Chasing what we can’t outrun [Verse 1] She came down the canyon with the radio loud White lines burning underneath the clouds Gold on the water, fire in her hair I knew by morning she wouldn’t be there Every light along the boulevard Was shining like a fallen star She said, “Don’t ask where the summer goes” Then turned it up and let the whole world know [Pre-Chorus] Oh, we’re getting closer Oh, but never close enough There’s a line beyond the ocean Where the sky is waiting for us [Chorus — huge stacked harmonies] Higher sun Take us where the daylight never ends Higher sun Where the broken-hearted start again We were young enough to think Forever could be won So drive until the highway disappears Into the higher sun [Post-Chorus — layered vocal counterpoint] (Higher, higher) Over the water (Higher, higher) Somewhere beyond us Ahh-ahh-ahh-ahh Into the higher sun [Verse 2] Midnight swimming underneath the moon Salt on our skin and a borrowed tune We sang every word like the words were true Like nothing in the world could get to you Now every summer has a little less light Every memory gets better at night But somewhere underneath that western sky The kids we were are still learning to fly [Pre-Chorus] Oh, we’re getting closer Oh, but never close enough There’s a line beyond the ocean And I still believe it’s waiting for us [Chorus] Higher sun Take us where the daylight never ends Higher sun Where the broken-hearted start again We were young enough to think Forever could be won So drive until the highway disappears Into the higher sun [Bridge — half-time, increasingly dense harmony] Maybe paradise was never a place Maybe it was sunlight falling on your face Maybe forever was one summer night One open window, one dashboard light And if I could go back I wouldn’t change a thing I’d just stay there longer And listen while we sing— [Break — a cappella] Higher sun Higher sun Carry us westward When the day is done [Guitar Solo — melodic, soaring, harmonized final phrase] [Final Chorus — key change] Higher sun Take us where the daylight never ends Higher sun Let us be those reckless kids again We were young enough to know What we’d become So drive until the edge of everything Burns beneath the higher sun [Outro — overlapping five-part vocals] (Higher, higher) Past the blue (Higher, higher) Me and you (Somewhere, somewhere) West of forever Higher sun Carry me home [A cappella tag] Somewhere west of forever Under the higher sun