Track Insight / Lyrics
At midnight, the griddle starts to sing
Coffee steams beside the day's last bell
I flip a tired egg for Officer King
Who laughs at my burnt toast and smells
Then I find a tape beneath the salt
Labeled Mix 1997 in blue ink
The highway calls with headlights awake
And every mile gives me a wink
The fryer crackles like a borrowed car
The morning runners order eggs and cream
I pocket a spatula, a guitar
And chase the sunrise with the team
Then I find a tape beneath the salt
Labeled Mix 1997 in blue ink
The highway calls with headlights awake
And every mile gives me a wink
A rainy waitress leaves her radio
On the counter by the laminated menu
The chorus rolls like something I outgrow
But I keep it humming when I'm through
Then I find a tape beneath the salt
Labeled Mix 1997 in blue ink
The highway calls with headlights awake
And every mile gives me a wink
At closing time, the booths are bare
The coffee maker hums its final round
I load the cassette in the spare
And let the open sky pull sound
Then I find a tape beneath the salt
Labeled Mix 1997 in blue ink
The highway calls with headlights awake
And every mile gives me a wink
So I crank the window, count it down
The dashboard glows beneath my hand
I leave the griddle, salt, and town
With Mix 1997 in command
The highway calls, the wide sky spins
The regulars can catch me if they can
The tape keeps turning, miles keep rolling
The night cook's dream is outward growing
