Ghost Town Heart

[Verse 1]
The square is empty, save for me and one blinking yellow light
The old marquee for the picture show gave up the ghost last night
The names are ghosts in peeling paint on the windows of the stores
No one's behind the counter, 'cause there's no one at the doors
Through the windows of the houses, I can see that blue light's glare
They're all looking down at something, pretending they're not there
We used to sit on front porches, just to watch the sun go down
Now the only thing that's moving is the wind through this old town

[Chorus]
And I've got a ghost town heart, beating slow and all alone
Full of boarded-up memories and echoes in my bones
We traded conversations for a status and a screen
And this silence is the loudest, meanest sound I've ever seen
Yeah, I've got a ghost town heart, in a world that fell apart
One connection at a time.

[Verse 2]
The diner's only open now for breakfast and for lunch
The old men who solved the world's problems, they're a quiet, smaller bunch
The bleachers at the high school field are peeling, cracked, and grey
The Friday night religion seems to have faded all away
I see my neighbor's grandkids growin' up a hundred miles away
In a picture that he showed me on his telephone today
He said "It's good to stay connected," and I know he means it right
But a picture ain't a handshake on a humid summer night

[Chorus]
And I've got a ghost town heart, beating slow and all alone
Full of boarded-up memories and echoes in my bones
We traded conversations for a status and a screen
And this silence is the loudest, meanest sound I've ever seen
Yeah, I've got a ghost town heart, in a world that fell apart
One connection at a time.

[Bridge]
I remember summer festivals, the Fourth of July parade
The fireflies and fireworks and the promises we made
We were shoulder to shoulder then, you could feel the living sound
Now all I feel's the empty space for miles and miles around.

[Guitar Solo]
(A soulful, mournful guitar solo with plenty of space between the notes. Uses some light tremolo or reverb to create a lonely, spacious, and haunting sound that echoes the theme of emptiness.)

[Chorus]
'Cause I've got a ghost town heart, beating slow and all alone
Full of boarded-up memories and echoes in my bones
We traded conversations for a status and a screen
And this silence is the loudest, meanest sound I've ever seen
Yeah, I've got a ghost town heart, in a world that fell apart
One connection at a time.

[Outro]
Yeah, one connection at a time...
The traffic light is blinkin'...
Nobody's home...
Just a ghost town... in my heart.
(A single, lonely harmonica note hangs in the air and slowly fades to silence.)