Long Ride Home
D. Lee Lyrics

I pass a town without a name
The singer is traveling by train and encounters a place that isn't even significant enough to be named.

Seen through the window of a train
The singer is on a train looking out the window at the town.

A boy and girl stand side by side
The singer sees a couple at the train station.

The train arrives, she kisses him goodbye
The girl leaves the boy and boards the train.

She turns away then steps on board
The girl walks onto the train and turns away from the boy.

He thought he'd die but now he's sure
The boy originally felt very emotional about the girl leaving, but now he feels more certain about next steps.

But as he thinks of one last thing to say
The boy thinks of something else to say to the girl before she leaves.

The train just rolls away
The train departs before the boy could say what he wanted.

I pass a station with no sign
The artist sees a train station with no identifying sign.

An old man gets on the train just in time
The artist sees an elderly man board the train at the last minute.

He used to love this town despite the rain
The old man used to enjoy this town, despite the weather.

But since his wife died it's not been the same
Since his wife passed away, the town no longer holds the same appeal to him.

He curses himself, he was weak
The old man regrets not being able to express his feelings at his wife's grave.

At his wife's grave he could not speak
When the old man was at his wife's grave, he couldn't find the words to express himself.

But as he thinks that maybe he should stay
The old man ponders staying in the town a bit longer.

The train just rolls away
The train leaves, making the old man's decision for him.

The driver likes his coffee strong and hot
The artist introduces the train driver, describing his coffee preference.

The train he drives is everything he's not
The train driver is different from the train he drives.

He watches the sad people board the train
The train driver observes people boarding the train and notes their sadness.

Then laughs as he pulls out and rolls away
The train driver laughs as he departs with the train.

Hits a hundred, no holding back
The train driver accelerates the train to 100 miles per hour.

Then his dear train comes off the track
The train derails, something the train driver never thought would happen.

The news report said instant death, no pain
The news reports that those aboard the train died instantly, without experiencing pain.

But who's really to say?
However, the artist suggests that it's impossible to really know what happened.

The train just rolled away
The train's violent end marks the end of the song, bringing a sense of finality to the story told throughout the lyrics.

The train just rolls away
The train's absence at crucial moments of people's lives is a recurring theme in the song.