The Road Goes Ever On..., Pt. 1 - Howard Shore

Sherry was a waitress at the only joint in town She had a reputation as a girl who'd been around Down Main Street after midnight with a brand new pack of cigs A fresh one hangin' from her lips and a beer between her legs She'd ride down to the river and meet with all her friends The road goes on forever and the party never ends Sonny was a loner he was older than the rest He was going into the Navy but he couldn't pass the test So he hung around town he sold a little pot The law caught wind of Sonny and one day he got caught But he was back in business when they set him free again The road goes on forever and the party never ends Sonny's playin' 8-ball at the joint where Sherry works When some drunken outta towner put his hand up Sherry's skirt Sonny took his pool cue laid the drunk out on the floor Stuffed a dollar in her tip jar and walked on out the door She's runnin' right behind him reachin' for his hand The road goes on forever and the party never ends They jumped into his pickup Sonny jammed her down in gear Sonny looked at Sherry and said lets get on outta here The stars were high above them and the moon was in the east The sun was settin' on them when they reached Miami Beach They got a hotel by the water and a quart of Bombay gin The road goes on forever and the party never ends They soon ran out of money but Sonny knew a man Who knew some Cuban refugees that dealt in contraband Sonny met the Cubans in a house just off the route With a briefcase full of money and a pistol in his boot The cards were on the table when The Law came bustin' in The road goes on forever and the party never ends The Cubans grabbed the goodies, Sonny grabbed the Jack He broke a bathroom window and climbed on out the back Sherry drove the pickup through the alley on the side Where a lawman tackled Sonny and was readin' him his rights She stepped into the alley with a single-shot .410 The road goes on forever and the party never ends They left the lawman lyin' and they made their getaway They got back to the motel just before the break of day Sonny gave her all the money and he blew her a little kiss If they ask you how this happened say I forced you into this She watched him as his taillights disappeared around the bend The road goes on forever and the party never ends Its Main Street after midnight just like it was before 21 months later at the local grocery store Sherry buys a paper and a cold 6-pack of beer The headlines read that Sonny is goin' to the chair She pulls back onto Main Street in her new Mercedes Benz The road goes on forever and the party never ends

My arms are tired and weary These wounds are on full display I've tried every door in the hallway There's just no where that I feel safe I see the light but never find the surface I don't know if I can swim no more White knuckles and wild horses One day we'll wash up on mercy's shore One day we'll wash up on mercy's shore I'm lost in the waves that crush me They bring discovery where darkness hides Just over the ridge in front of you Another mountain that you'll have to climb I see the light but never find the surface I don't know if I can swim no more White knuckles and wild horses One day we'll wash up on mercy's shore One day we'll wash up on mercy's shore We're a child in the car asleep In the driveway at night Our mother's gonna slowly sneak Our body inside We can rest in the arms of trust There's no way that we can say We've earned our way into light All we have to do to is stay I see the light but never find the surface I don't know if I can swim no more White knuckles and wild horses One day we'll wash up on mercy's shore One day we'll wash up on mercy's shore I've been battling a broken heart Everybody knows I'm torn apart Since I was eight years old and I thought that God was a girl in my school If we can wind up on a sandy beach Breathing air that only death can reach And singing songs that only heaven leaves It's okay with me And God is wanting us to make believe But knowing something is only a dream Like the absolutes and the in-between Are out of line, sometimes, intertwined, behind A mind, in line, and fights that only fools are still trying to fight

Kin of my kin, I rely on you Takin' me in when a wave runs me through As a shore I ever seem to sail to And I know, old heavinesses shake you Maybe I stayed lIttle long, could be I needed shade, sand on my feet And it's some new ailment is in me Can't divide what's memory and what's dream Afraid of the empty but too safe on the shore And 'fore I forget me, I want to record While I see it all While I see it all All I remember walking shoulders hours speaking I remember meeting Clementine and weeping I remember Prine, I remember you After word of Berman I remember Pfeiffer burning I remember hoping, I'd remember nothing Now I only hope I'm holding onto something Now the quarter moon is out Now the quarter moon is out

Your hills and dales And flowery vales That lie near the Moorlough Shore Your vines that blow by Borden's grove May I never see you more Where the primrose blows And the violet grows Where the trout and salmon play With my line and hook, delight I took To spend my youthful days Last night I went to see my love To hear what she might say To see if she'd take pity on me Lest I might go away She said, I loved an Irish lad And he was my only joy And ever since I saw his face I have loved that soldier boy Well perhaps your soldier lad is lost Sailing over sea of Maine Or perhaps he is gone with some other one May I never see him again Well, if my Irish lad is lost He's the one I do adore And seven long years I'll wait for him By the banks of the Moorlough shore And seven long years I'll wait for him By the banks of the Moorlough shore