The car stopped running in the middle of the road
Beyond any phone line or 911 code
Hopes were dismal we'd ever get towed
And if we slept in that ride we might awake upon explode

It was as dark as night when the sun went down
Long after we left the last little town
Not even the endless heat of day cared to stick around
It got as cold as it gets here then got colder we found

The linkage must've jammed 'cause now the Chevy won't budge
The kid sleeps on your lap and won't wake when you nudge
You left a whole world of light behind, now you hold a grudge
And as you carry the kid out, you curse the clutch

It'll be a wonder if you both can avoid the death of cold
This stuff used to be cake but now takes its toll
How can you be this unlucky just to get this unlucky old?
And you wonder what else lives in this slice of road

And you lie to your hands, you lie to your heart
You lie to your liver and tell them they will survive
Ironically, as you lie there by the side of the road
And can't wait for the sun to come and burn off the cold

When you awake it's still dark
And the thunder could mean rain
You check the child's breathing
And curse the clutch again

It seems impossible that no one has passed
Or crashed into your ride
And as the lull of sleep again attacks
The rain finds where you hide

Somewhere there's a bar filled with the careless and content
Somewhere folks are happy and don't care which way you went
Somewhere it's even warmer than the day you just spent
And wish them away with deplore and lament

There's songs that come to mind
When the mud turns blood to ice
A dance that shows itself
When the night becomes so spiced
A realm you never felt that steals away the life
Out of your heart, out of your soul, it takes a slice

With the dull grey thud of morning
You can't believe you're not dead
The child wakes with a smile
And just wants to be fed

There were no ghosts of the past
Nor visions of the days ahead
And as you stand to stretch
You flag down a blue flat bed