Thrasher

They were hiding behind hay bales,

They were planting in the full moon

They had given all they had for something new

But the light of day was on them,

They could see the thrashers coming

And the water shone like diamonds in the dew.

And I was just getting up, hit the road before it's light

Trying to catch an hour on the sun

When I saw those thrashers rolling by,

Looking more than two lanes wide

I was feelin' like my day had just begun.

Where the eagle glides ascending

There's an ancient river bending

Down the timeless gorge of changes

Where sleeplessness awaits

I searched out my companions,

Who were lost in crystal canyons

When the aimless blade of science slashed the pearly gates.

It was then I knew I'd had enough,

Burned my credit card for fuel

Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand

With a one-way ticket to the land of truth

And my suitcase in my hand

How I lost my friends, I still don't understand.

They had the best selection,

They were poisoned with protection

There was nothing that they needed, Nothing left to find

They were lost in rock formations

Or became park bench mutations

On the sidewalks and in the stations

They were waiting, waiting.

So I got bored and left them there,

They were just deadweight to me

Better down the road without that load

Brings back the time when I was eight or nine

I was watchin' my mama's T.V.,

It was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode.

Where the vulture glides descending

On an asphalt highway bending

Thru libraries and museums, galaxies and stars

Down the windy halls of friendship

To the rose clipped by the bullwhip

The motel of lost companions

Waits with heated pool and bar.

But me I'm not stopping there,

Got my own row left to hoe

Just another line in the field of time

When the thrasher comes,

I'll be stuck in the sun

Like the dinosaurs in shrines

But I'll know the time has come

To give what's mine.