Salt crust on the lantern glass
Heat shimmers off the blacktop pass
I chart the miles by candle flame
This desert writes a different name
Mile marker standing tall
Hound dog answers every call
Red dust rises round his paws
No master waits behind locked doors
Nose down in the creosote
Tracking rabbit tracking goat
Paw pads bleed on baked clay
Sun stole the cool of yesterday
Mile marker standing tall
Hound dog answers every call
Red dust rises round his paws
No master waits behind locked doors
Storm glass falls but wind don't break
Fresnel lens for heaven's sake
I kept the light for thirty years
Now dust covers up the gears
Mile marker standing tall
Hound dog answers every call
Red dust rises round his paws
No master waits behind locked doors
Coyote sings the sunset down
No kennel warmth no master's crown
Just instinct pulling true north bound
Where mesquite thorns tear through the ground
Mile marker standing tall
Hound dog answers every call
Red dust rises round his paws
No master waits behind locked doors
Just highway hum and evening stars
Mile marker standing tall
