[Verse 1] We left that hotel tired and worn, Chased the ruts where the wagons were born, Oregon, California, Santa Fe line, Three old trails still marking time. [Verse 2] Miles of darkness, the highway long, Nothing but the wheels and a radio song, Then a roadside sign in the midnight air, Pulled us off when we shouldn’t care. [Chorus 1] Nebraska surprise, lit up the skies, A fairground hidden where the prairie lies, Out of sheer dumb luck we found that place, With fireworks bursting right in our face. [Verse 3] A casino glow in the fields of corn, Opening night where the fair was born, And the heavens sparked in a dazzling show, Electric lights in the midnight glow. [Chorus 2] Nebraska surprise, wide-open skies, A carnival rising before our eyes, The kind of moment no map could find, But it burns in the heart and it stays in the mind. [Outro] We drove on later ‘neath the cooling night, Still shining inside from that Nebraska light.
