Headlights

(album: Strange Brotherhood - 1998)

Lit up like a Christmas tree, the oil refinery glows in the night
And down by the shoreline the seagulls fly white, against the black
The great moon riding shotgun rolling out across the veil of clouds
And you were small, and lying awake listening to the noises in the house
With the best of them you ran, like all of us, in our season
Casting memory aside your history, all forgotten
Driven onwards through the years in love with each distraction
But all the while, the past is close behind
Like headlights on your tail, headlights on your tail

Your pulse is beating faster now, like a bird flying hard against the wind
Trying to understand all the crazed compulsions that you feel
And all the little jealousies and betrayals, they echo in the dark
And somewhere back through it all, the key is still turning in the lock
Now the ghosts that you have laid, they all come out to greet you
The knowledge that you've gained well, none of this protects you
You've been so very far, still peace will not embrace you
For all the while the past is close behind
Like headlights on your tail, headlights on your tail