Motorcycle Ride

The coffee shop was empty except a table by the door
A ten-minute conversation, we’re not strangers anymore
And I knew what I would answer before he even asked
Something 'bout the way he held his shoulders when he laughed
Small talk in the suburbs to flying 80 on the 10
Just me and him and a Moto Guzzi bike between our legs
The Interstate gave way to the winding mountain roads
I leaned into the curves as if I knew how this should go
But I’ve always been the girl to hang back and play it safe
So afraid of getting hurt by the risks I never take
But I learned two things that night
Don’t hang on too tight and always take that motorcycle ride
The mountain air was sweet and I sipped it in like wine
His cabin smelled of redwood and linseed oil and thyme
I steadied on his arm, still feeling the bike move
After holding on so hard to everything I had to prove
We drifted 'round in circles on the lake all afternoon
Stories of our lives and loves and phases of the moon
I couldn’t tell you whether it was waxing or it waned
But it moved so slow and slight that I never see it change
But I’ve always been the girl to hang back and play it safe
So afraid of getting hurt by the risks I never take
But I learned two things that night
Don’t hang on too tight and always take that motorcycle ride
Some people cross you path and you know they’ll always stay
Others fly you up a mountain and they’re gone the way they came
But that day up at the cabin, that night spent in the pines
That boy and his bike are ever gentle on my mind
But I’ve always been the girl to hang back and play it safe
So afraid of getting hurt by the risks I never take
But I learned two things that night
Don’t hang on too tight and always take that motorcycle ride