The Road - The Burning Hell

The band was as blue as the melted Joni Mitchell cassette

On the dash of the van they had nicknamed regret

Touring round the united kingdom

Selling compact discs to the people of england

And wales and scotland, oh it’s hard to be a rock band these days

People like to spend their evenings in different ways

That’s just what the band was thinking

When the engine died and the lights started blinking

Their lives flashed before them in a slideshow of backstages and bars

As the van slowed down amidst the oncoming cars

They pulled it over and they called for a tow

Off the road

Off the road, off the road, off the road

Appearing from the mist was a hidden oasis

Aka the scotch corner service station

The drummer was relaxed but the singer was panicked

When out of the fog stepped a magic mechanic

He called himself stevie with an i and an e

He waved his wand and his wrench and said follow me

So the band drove north in stevie’s wife’s fiat panda

Just a slice of the glamour of being a band, uh huh

They made the show because the show was important

The sky was as damp as the cheeks of an orphan

Same rain as before just in a different postal code

But they all said at least we’re back on the road

On the road, on the road, on the road

Stevie made a midnight run right after the gig

Drove back to scotch corner to fix their rig

The band panda’d their way the next day south

There was the wizard with a crinkly old smile on his mouth

The van sparkled in the yorkshire dawn

They turned to thank stevie but stevie was gone

The road is a lot like the cormac mcarthy book

Less cannibalism but a similar look

There’s nothing more post-apocalyptic

Than a landscape of truck stops and rock critics

To paraphrase joni on the first track of that melted cassette

It’s a lonely road and it’s not over yet