Long Way Home

Gold paint on the sky, corners of the clouds still wet

Clock's ticking by, we're trading secrets with the sunset

Highway signs keep shouting all the miles we ought to make

But you've got your hand out the window, catching night like it's a lake

We could chase the numbers, let them swallow up our breath

Or drift through neighborhoods where porches hold their quiet guests

There's nothing waiting back there we can't slow down

Let the blue line on the screen keep spinning 'round

I wanna take the long way home

(Down two-lane roads the map won't show)

Where the streetlights blink like sleepy eyes

(And every mile just buys us time)

If the night is ours, let's let it roam

(Come on, let's take the long way home)

I'm so glad we have this night together

We don't need a reason, just the rattle of this car

You laugh into your sleeve, and it hangs in the air like smoke

I swear the radio knows us, every quiet, crooked note

Little towns like Polaroids we never stop to keep

Painted fences, barking dogs, the kind of calm that makes you speak

We'll miss the easy answers, we'll miss the news

But I'd rather chase the corners of the moon with you

I wanna take the long way home

(Down two-lane roads the map won't show)

Where the streetlights blink like sleepy eyes

(And every mile just buys us time)

If the night is ours, let's let it roam

(Come on, let's take the long way home)

Maybe we're just stalling the moment we park

When porch light truth comes on too sharp

But if the magic fades with the engine's sigh

Let's keep it running, let the dark drive by

I don't mind getting lost with you

If we never find the shortest route

Turn the key softer, let the engine hum low

Tell me a story only backroads know

I wanna take the long way home

(Past the places we've outgrown)

Let the stop signs count the beats

(Let the tires write our heartbeat)

If the night is ours, let's let it roam

(Come on, let's take the long way home)

(Gold paint on the sky gives way to chrome)

(And I'm still asking, take the long way home)