At first it's the wind blowing so cold
The ice and the snow and the rain
And it's strange this day I'm remembering now
My little sister and I In a dream
It's black and it's white by my memory's light
With the snow and the dark bare trees
Then after the front there is only the sound of
The snow falling into the leaves
I see the light in the barn
We were trying to stay warm
I see my daddy popping open the hood
He primed her well
And layed his hand on my head
And said let's see if that'll do any good
He pumped on the gas turning the key
The cylinders jumped and she groaned
Then that 63 mercury meteor
Turned over and she was ready to roll
Over the moon
And down through the town
The sound of a happy machine
The windshield wipers bending the light
Cold coming in through the wing
Riding with daddy
Just my sister and me
Driving that old meteor home
It was like we were flying
A spaceship mama
Spinning around the sun
We turned the radio on to the static and sound
Of the road rolling under the wheel
Daddy said I tell you folks something right now
She's a fine little automobile
Like a day you want to last forever
I kept wishing it would never end
The smell of the dust and rain in our clothes
Is like a letter that I'll never send
Daddy pulled in to the truck stop
The place sounded like a pinball machine
Smelled of diesel and tobacco
Oil and smoke, coffee and gasoline
He fixed a rusty leak in the gas tank
With a rag and an old bar of soap
Then he bought us a bottle
Of soda pop for breakfast
Little drifters on a gypsy road
See grandma was gone, she followed her songv we were trying to take care of her things
Reaping and sowing the timeline down
Me and sister we were coming of age
The clock was really running
The big world was turning
And we didn't like the compromise
But there's nothing you can do
You got to keep on moving
I could see that in my Daddy's eyes
If my daddy was sad or scared or cross
He tried to set the burden aside
As we got a little closer to getting back home
I started feeling like I wanted to cry
It's black and it's white by my memory's light
With the cold and the dark bare trees
Then after the front there is only the sound of
The snow falling into the leaves
(additional verses)
I remember sneaking the keys out
Pretending I was back on the road
Sitting there running the battery down
Listening to the radio
I come home from school one day
And my mercury was long gone
Daddy sold it off to a skinny little man
I think he played the saxophone
Someone said they see it roll through town
Once in a while to reveal
Like my daddy said folks I can tell you right know
She's a fine little automobile
But I wouldn't ever trade the memory we made
For the car, the title, the key
For flying in a mercury meteor
My daddy and my sister and me