He left his shoes beside the pier Said the tide could have ’em Wore that highway down to the bone Till the road quit asking where he’d been An old man laughed through a busted watch Said time was bad at keeping A girl in red on the bait shop roof Sang to the wires while the rain came creeping He had loose change rattling in his pocket And a ticket with nowhere to go The harbor lights blinked twice Like they knew something he didn’t know So let it roll let it roll Till the wheels forget the road Let the sky come down in pieces Let the whole damn story go If the world wants a straight line Give it somebody else There’s a saltwater halo Hanging crooked over hell The captain wore a tattooed map With half the coastline missing Said he’d sailed these waters thirty years Still didn’t know what he was fishing A woman at the rail lit a cigarette Watched the smoke become a flag Said everybody wants to leave Then asked him what he’d packed He checked his pockets Found a key Three quarters and a photograph Of somebody he used to be Hey now Where’d you think you’re going Hey now Who said you had to know The river keeps on moving The radio keeps on glowing And the road don’t give a damn Which way you go By daylight the storm had moved on Left the harbor bent and bare The captain came up counting cigarettes Like he’d never left the stairs The woman took the photograph Tore it clean across the face Dropped half into the water Kept the other in her case She said Everybody gets a ticket Everybody gets a turn Some folks spend their whole damn life Trying to find out what it’s worth He watched that little piece of paper Spin circles in the wake Then the captain opened up the throttle And laughed at the mess they made Hey now Where’d you think you’re going Hey now Who said you had to know The river keeps on moving The radio keeps on glowing And the road don’t give a damn Which way you go He threw the key into the water Watched it flash and disappear Then the woman came back laughing You’ve been here before dear
