When the Subway Comes Above the Ground

I was in T.O. I was laughing
At my friend who sold his soul
I guess it wouldn't have been so funny
I had not just sold mine for less
Staring at the orange smokestacks
and the sunset casting shadows until our faces drowned
I guess it's better to have left and laughed
Than never to have left at all
Found myself on subway coming above the ground

I, I used to tango
But that, that was then
You know, I danced too close to the band
That's how I got this ringing in my ears
And sometimes I just can't sleep from the sound
Oh, I can't hear it during the day, just at night
Or when things get quiet
Like when the subway comes above the ground

In Tennessee
Yes, I was looking for someone to throw me against the wall
I wanted to be inspired until disheartened
Spend all the money that I'd hard-earned
Just to see his name with flashing yellow-lightbulbs all around
But he left us in the Mississippi
He wasn't even thirty-one
If only he'd come up like a subway from the ground

In springtime, I was standing
With a brown dog at my side
I was sweating, staring at Mayan ruins
Then I was next to you on that bus heading straight,
straight out of town
From Memphis and Nashville to New York City
Your jaw was wild and pretty
When you turned to me and you said
Am I in ruins, like the outskirts of the city
Where the subways all come above the ground?
And I said no

In Iceland, it was festival season
And I went knocking on your door
Yes, you opened up, and there you were
With the halo of the porchlight
You were crowned
We stayed up all night
Phrases fading like countryside in the rearview mirror
And I was hoping that one day you'd be next to me
Or at least someplace near
When the subway comes above the ground