I rode a thousand miles in a canvas sack
Been dropped and dented, always found my way back
My needle quivers when the north wind blows
I've seen more highways than the asphalt knows
I'm a silver compass on a motel rail
Rusting slow while the paint goes pale
Pointing north to a place that's gone
Holding on when the road moves on
The cook flips eggs and he hums a tune
Wipes the counter with a gray rag spoon
He don't know I'm watching every plate
Every stranger walking through that gate
I'm a silver compass on a motel rail
Rusting slow while the paint goes pale
Pointing north to a place that's gone
Holding on when the road moves on
A trucker stopped here back in eighty-nine
Left his sweetheart with a note and a dime
Said he'd return when the cactus bloomed
Now the room's been empty, the key's been groomed
I'm a silver compass on a motel rail
Rusting slow while the paint goes pale
Pointing north to a place that's gone
Holding on when the road moves on
The neon burnt out and the sign came down
They paved the trail right through this town
But my needle still points to where he swore
He'd come back knocking on that door
I'm a silver compass on a motel rail
Rusting slow while the paint goes pale
Pointing north to a place that's gone
Holding on when the road moves on
Brass is cold on the counter glass
Waiting for a love that already passed
