On the Interstate

(Words and Music by Doug Hoekstra)

Bent in a booth, down in a diner
The trees and seas of North Carolina stretched out in front of me
She brought me coffee and a biscuit on the side

With a rag in her hand, she cleaned the counter
Fools on stools cast eyes upon her – red and bleary souls
Tired of leavin’ their weariness at home

The glass on the window was speckled with paint
So I chipped at a piece of the interstate
Outside on the interstate
Where the rain was poundin’ down
 
A fella came in with a package and a slip
A gray-haired cashier signed for it, handed it to the girl
The other waitresses gathered like mother hens
 
She started to laugh, she started to cry
The years rolled away like a tear from her eye – her cheeks were rosy red
I wanted to hold her, but she didn’t even know my name
 
The glass on the window was speckled with paint
So I chipped at a piece of the interstate
Outside on the interstate
Where the rain was poundin’ down
 
The commotion died down and she went back to work
I don’t think she said a single word. The pay phone rang and rang
Somebody laughed at an old cornball joke
 
I felt like a man in a terrible dream
Sittin’ alone among ten-thousand seats. I headed for the door
It’s a shame these days how the interstates all look the same
 
So, I turned up my collar and dove into the rain
Splashin around on the interstate
Outside on the interstate
Where the rain was poundin’ down
 
Allison Chesley – cello
Mark Fornek – drums
Doug Hoekstra – acoustic & electric guitars, lead & backing vocals
Jeff Kowalkowski – cello score
Bill Murphy – bass
 
Engineered by Brad Wood & Casey Rice, Idful Studios, Chicago IL

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