You wipe the counter with a cotton rag
The clock ticks slow on a wooden slab
Coffee steams in a chipped blue cup
You stir the sugar don't look up
Desert wind shakes the vinyl awning
Your apron strings catch the morning
Mile marker fades in the rearview glass
Another fare another pass
Veranda light burns through the sagebrush night
You stand there glowing in the porch lamp's height
Santa Fe dawn won't wait for no one
But you outshine the rising sun
Radio crackles with a border tune
The meter's dark since the afternoon
Passengers leave their stories on the seat
You serve them eggs on a plastic plate
Desert wind shakes the vinyl awning
Your apron strings catch the morning
Headlights sweep the gravel drive
You make this dead-end feel alive
Veranda light burns through the sagebrush night
You stand there glowing in the porch lamp's height
Santa Fe dawn won't wait for no one
But you outshine the rising sun
The kitchen door swings on a rusted hinge
You laugh at something the cook don't sing
Regulars know how you take your tea
Black as tar and strong as can be
I've driven highways from coast to coast
Seen winners rise and seen the lost
But nothing cuts through the grey like you
A lighthouse in a desert hue
Veranda light burns through the sagebrush night
You stand there glowing in the porch lamp's height
Santa Fe dawn won't wait for no one
But you outshine the rising sun
The sun climbs hard over Sangre peaks
Shadows stretch where the adobe speaks
You hang the closed sign on the screened door
Wipe your hands on a towel worn
Veranda light burns through the sagebrush night
You stand there glowing in the porch lamp's height
Santa Fe dawn won't wait for no one
But you outshine the rising sun
Veranda light you're the only one
Engine hums low as I pull away
Your light stays lit through the day
