Cherry Lane

Past the wounded cars reflecting all their dirty light
Past the unnamed bars, the unnamed prisoners of the night
Past the Winnebago dreaming all its iron dreams
Past the haunted drugstore where the fortune teller leans
Past the gravel parking lot where blood is always blood
Past the storefront church where they say God made Man from mud
There you’ll find the broken toys who chased their love in vain
If you wander over yonder down my Cherry Lane
Past the dimming county line where all turns black and red
Past the winners' trash bags where the losers lay their heads
Listen to the freight trains rumbling, talking in their sleep
See the lonesome drifter ask the Lord her soul to keep
Walk beneath the signpost where the purple neon hums
See the ugly cardboard world where someday never comes
And you may see my old man Gideon walking with a cane
If you wander over yonder down my Cherry Lane
I got sick, then I got sicker, and then I lost my way
Heard a song without a singer at the close of day
I went driving, I went walking, I went far away
Went somewhere you can’t come back from, somewhere you can’t stay
If you see me on your journey, try and say my name
You can turn and trace your footsteps back the way you came
Or you can take the highway running wild through joy and pain
If you wander over yonder down my Cherry Lane