Exit 37

[Intro]
(A lone, clean electric guitar plays a simple, repetitive, hypnotic arpeggio. The sound of a truck's turn signal clicks faintly in the background. A long, atmospheric pedal steel note swells in and fades.)

[Verse 1]
Blinker's been tickin' for a full three minutes now
Don't know if I'm prayin' or just wonderin' how
I ended up right back here, on this cracked and broken road
With a decade full of memories as my only heavy load
The engine's humming steady, the highway's at my back
But every sign ahead of me is painted memory black.

[Chorus]
(The music remains sparse and atmospheric. The vocal is a quiet, weary realization.)
And the gas station sign is flickering like a ghost against the grey
The second 'L' is busted out, been that way since I ran away
And I'm stuck here at Exit 37, caught between the then and now
Just half a mile from everything I lost here anyhow.

[Verse 2]
I can see the stadium lights, a faded, holy glow
Reminds me of a promise that I made you long ago
In the backseat of my Chevy, with your perfume in the air
Swore I'd come right back for you, I gave my word, I swear
Funny how a man can run so far and lose his soul
Tryin' to outrun a memory that's taken its damn toll.

[Chorus]
(A sparse, heartbeat-like drum pattern enters, building the tension slightly.)
And that gas station sign is flickering like a ghost against the grey
The second 'L' is busted out, been that way since I ran away
And I'm stuck here at Exit 37, caught between the then and now
Just half a mile from everything I lost here anyhow.

[Bridge]
(The music gets even quieter. The pedal steel swells more prominently.)
Am I looking for forgiveness? Am I looking for a fight?
Or just a place to pull over and kill the engine for the night?
This whole damn town's a mirror, and I'm scared of what I'll see
If the man I am today meets the boy I used to be.

[Instrumental Break]
(An atmospheric, non-flashy instrumental. The pedal steel guitar takes the lead, playing a long, soaring, ghostly melody full of sorrow and space. The hypnotic electric guitar and the heartbeat drum continue underneath.)

[Chorus]
(The vocal is barely a whisper now, full of resignation.)
And the gas station sign is flickering like a ghost against the grey...
The second 'L' is busted out, been that way since I threw it all away...
And I'm stuck here at Exit 37, caught between the then and now...
Half a mile from heaven, and a half a mile from hell somehow...

[Outro]
(The music fades, leaving just the sound of the ticking turn signal and the hypnotic guitar.)
Just the tick-tock of the blinker...
Left or right...
(The ticking gets slower... and stops. Silence.)