Fault Lines

You love the city
When you're knee-deep in confetti
One big hazy birthday party
On a Sunday
I loved you plenty
Like I tried to love the city
But my favorite's still the glittering
From far away
Okay, okay, okay

I fled the county
Headed deep in the Mojave
Where the sky is wide and hungry
When the sun's high
I felt the desert dream
Of where an ocean used to be
I'm drowning in a memory
Of high tide
Alright, alright, alright

California aches
In her tectonic plates
She waits to make a break into the sea
Crying for a quake
Mourning empty lakes
Crying without water isn't easy

I love the city
Like a homemade house of holies
Like the sidewalk shrine you only ever pass by
And if some summer's eve
The tremors bring us to our knees
You'll say you saw it coming in our fault lines
Alright, alright, alright

California coughs
The high is wearing off
She's trying to get by without the rain
And when I'm borne aloft
To somewhere green and soft
I'll watch the wildfires from an airplane

I love you like a hillside up in flame