Diesel Runs Out

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Verse 1 Engine quit about a half mile back. Coasted the rest on what the hill would give. Funny — all that running, and the last thing it does is roll, real quiet, and stop on its own. Hood's still ticking. Smells like something burned a long time ago and is only just now telling me about it.

Instrumental

Verse 2 There's a field out the window I never noticed. Frost on it. Looks like somebody's still asleep out there. A crow on a fence post, doesn't move. He's not waiting for me. He's just where he lives. I respect that. I never lived anywhere. I had a truck and a route and a name people said careful. That's not the same thing.

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Verse 3 Her coffee'd be cold by now. The chair'd be empty. Both chairs, I guess. I hope she doesn't wait long before she throws the second cup out. I hope she throws it hard. I hope it breaks. That's the closest thing to a prayer I've got left, and it's for her, not me.

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Verse 4 And you — if you're still upright somewhere, counting what I cost you, you can stop. The number's done. I paid it about a quarter mile back when the engine quit and I knew it wasn't starting again. We were never even, brother. But we are now.

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Verse 5 There's a thing I should've said about thirty miles ago, and about thirty years ago, and I didn't, because I thought there'd be a better light to say it in. Turns out the light you've got is the light you say it in. I'm saying it now. Nobody's here. That's alright. The field heard it. The crow heard it. That's enough.

Instrumental

Outro Tank's dry. That's alright. I wasn't going anywhere I hadn't already been. Light's coming up over the field now. It doesn't know about any of this. That's the kindest thing that's happened to me all year.

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