[Spoken Word Intro] (A lonely, dusty acoustic guitar picking a slow, melancholic blues lick, crickets chirping in the background) Yeah, pour another finger of cheap whiskey. The sun went down three states ago, and the radiator's blown again. Some folks pray for a miracle... me and my shadow just look for a place to lay our burdens down. [Verse 1] My shadow is tired, he’s broke, and he won’t shut his eyes, Staring down the barrel of a hundred alibis. How do I know? 'Cause he’s pouring a drink at dawn, Laughing at the miles of broken highway gone. And the rain’s beating hard on the roof of this rusted truck, While he’s cussing out the heavens and our bad luck! [Chorus] Oh, don't you dare leave me stranded on this side of the line, You're the only bit of trouble that's left on my mind! Without your wild spirit, this desert's just a dying grave. The storm's washing out every road we thought we could save, So pull your hat down low and let's ride into the dust— You're the only piece of freedom I've got left to trust! [Verse 2] I'm so thankful you dragged me out of that freezing ditch, Even though you traded my last dollar to a witch! You're completely outlaw—thanks a lot, my stubborn friend!— Stitching up my boots for the bend round the bend. When I thought I was done for and ready to quit, You just lit a match and watched the whole house bit-by-bit! [Chorus] Oh, don't you dare leave me stranded on this side of the line, You're the only bit of trouble that's left on my mind! Without your wild spirit, this desert's just a dying grave. The storm's washing out every road we thought we could save, So pull your hat down low and let's ride into the dust— You're the only piece of freedom I've got left to trust! [Bridge] (A weeping steel guitar sliding in, driving country drumbeat kicks hard) How many laws of the county did we just break? How many empty promises for heaven's sake? Who needs a prayer when you've got this highway hum? You traded my sorrows for a bottle of rum! [Verse 3] Thank you for busting through jailhouse doors with a grin, Tearing up the warrants just to see where we've been! You pulled me right out of the mud and the county mire, Just to set all my honest-living plans on fire. With a wink and a shrug, you've got ruin planned, The meanest old ghost in this borderland! [Chorus] Oh, don't you dare leave me stranded on this side of the line, You're the only bit of trouble that's left on my mind! Without your wild spirit, this desert's just a dying grave. The storm's washing out every road we thought we could save, So pull your hat down low and let's ride into the dust— You're the only piece of freedom I've got left to trust! [Bridge 2] (Music strips back to just a low hum of a guitar amp and feedback) Hey... where you heading off to down the tracks? Don't you dare look at me with that smirk on your back... Fine. Let's see where this dead-end trail takes us. [Spoken Word Outro] (A lone acoustic guitar strum fading out into the sound of wind whistling across an empty highway) The storm's finally blown over, the sheriff's miles behind us, and we're dead broke. Come on, partner... let's ride.
