Fog rolls thick past the diner door
Hides the tracks on the gravel floor
Old Schwinn leans on a rusted rail
Whitewalls sinking in the pale
Chrome and coal in the night air
Ghost wheels turning going nowhere
Grease on the chain and grease on the grill
Clock hands stuck on the windowsill
Conductor shouts but the yard stays mute
Switchman checks a frozen route
Handlebars caught in a signal wire
Burning rubber burning tire
Chrome and coal in the night air
Ghost wheels turning going nowhere
Grease on the chain and grease on the grill
Clock hands stuck on the windowsill
Regular Joe sips his black brew
Says the bike knew the schedule too
Thirty years on the commuter run
Now it sleeps by the setting sun
Chrome and coal in the night air
Ghost wheels turning going nowhere
Grease on the chain and grease on the grill
Clock hands stuck on the windowsill
Wrench turns slow in a calloused hand
Loosening bolts the best I can
Free the frame from the iron grip
Give the steel one more short trip
Chrome and coal in the night air
Ghost wheels turning going nowhere
Grease on the chain and grease on the grill
Clock hands stuck on the windowsill
One more ride before the chill
Bell rings once on the empty street
Steel and smoke bitter sweet