The Long Way Past the River

[Verse 1]

The heater coughs beneath the dash

You draw a circle in the glass

The wipers count the miles we take

While coffee cools beside the brake

[Pre-Chorus]

You say the town is twenty minutes

I say we don't have to rush

The storm has spent its worst by now

And settles softly on the bus

[Chorus]

Take the long way past the river

Let the old car carry us

Every hard thing bends and breaks

When there's somebody you can trust

If the morning finds us different

We'll remember what we knew

The year can leave its heavy coat

And we can make it through

we are still here in the rain

[Verse 2]

The streetlights smear across the glass

Gold ribbons sliding as we pass

Your jacket smells of cedar smoke

You laugh before you start to choke

[Pre-Chorus]

The cup is cold, the tank is low

The radio has lost its song

But all the roads that scared us then

Look almost ordinary now

[Chorus]

Take the long way past the river

Let the old car carry us

Every hard thing bends and breaks

When there's somebody you can trust

If the morning finds us different

We'll remember what we knew

The year can leave its heavy coat

And we can make it through

we are still here in the rain

[Bridge]

[Nearly whispered, almost alone]

No drums, no headlights in the lane

Just your hand resting near the brake

I thought the winter had us beat

Then you said, "Home is up ahead"

[Final Chorus]

Take the long way past the river

Let the old car carry us

Every hard thing bends and breaks

When there's somebody you can trust

If the morning finds us different

We'll remember what we knew

The year can leave its heavy coat

And we can make it through

we are still here in the rain

[Outro]

The wipers slow, the storm lets go

Two tired friends, one porch light on