Farewell Party

She rode a '48 Panhead hardtail
First time I seen her she was skidding over a bed of nails
On the skin 'neath her left sleeve bloomed three roses
We held a farewell party at the station
There in the hour of her transfiguration
It was a fifth of tequila and a bouquet of azaleas
Don't we all dream of a life somewhere
Untouched by our failures?

We mixed our blood together in the sand
Found a little house down off the Calle Grande
Slept on a bed of scarred spirits and twisted bones
I loved her like it was a disease
I came crawlin' on my knees
Till you had me waist-deep and sinking in your river of doubt
You change your name and your face
But here your fears find you out

They come like old ghosts in the night
To lead us away from our own blessed light
To strip away the love our darkness veils
And leave us with nothin' but blood and skin beneath our nails

Tonight I got your '48 up, two kicks and she starts
I'm rushing out 'neath a canopy of empty stars
All I'm thinkin' of is you, babe
Well, those three roses come back to me again
Like you, me, and what might've been
I'm pushin' out past the desert bars and lettuce farms
Wind in the mesquite comes rushing over the hilltops
Straight into my arms