The Longest Ride

The heavy thud of the car door shuts the whole wide world away

I wipe a smudge of graveyard mud off my polished shoes of gray

The engine turns and sputters to a low and steady hum

But my hands upon the steering wheel are frozen stiff and numb

I just left my heart out in the rain beneath a canopy

Surrounded by the dying flowers and the weeping family

I put the shifter into drive and slowly pull ahead

Leaving you behind to rest among the quiet sleeping dead

The traffic lights are changing from a ruby red to green

And people on the sidewalk go about their daily scene

They're buying gas and groceries, they're walking in the sun

They have no way of knowing that my universe is done

It's only four short miles from the iron gates to town

Just a straight line down the highway as the sun is going down

But the silence in the cabin is an ocean deep and wide

And going back to nothing is the longest ride

Yeah, the passenger seat is empty and there's nowhere left to hide

Going back to an empty house is the longest, longest ride

There's a faded coffee receipt sitting on the dashboard tray

From that Tuesday morning diner run before you slipped away

I stare at the indentation where you always used to sit

And the way you left the air vent turned, I haven't altered it

I reach out out of habit just to rest my hand on yours

But I only find the vinyl and the cold between the doors

I can't bring myself to turn the radio dial on

Every singer-songwriter is singing about someone who is gone

The traffic lights are changing from a ruby red to green

And people on the sidewalk go about their daily scene

They're buying gas and groceries, they're walking in the sun

They have no way of knowing that my universe is done

It's only four short miles from the iron gates to town

Just a straight line down the highway as the sun is going down

But the silence in the cabin is an ocean deep and wide

And going back to nothing is the longest ride

Yeah, the passenger seat is empty and there's nowhere left to hide

Going back to an empty house is the longest, longest ride