[Verse 1]
The screen door slams, Mary's dress sways
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison's singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me and I want you only
Don't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone again

[Verse 2]
Don't run back inside, darling, you know just what I'm here for
So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore
Show a little faith, there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, but hey, you're alright
And that's alright with me

[Verse 3]
You can hide 'neath your covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers, throw roses in the rain
Waste your summer praying in vain for a savior to rise from these streets
Well now, I'm no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow, hey, what else can we do now?

[Verse 4]
Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back your hair
The night's busted open, these two lanes will take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, Heaven's waiting down on the tracks
[Verse 5]
Oh, come take my hand, we're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh, thunder road, oh thunder road, oh thunder road
Lying out there, like a killer in the sun
Hey I know it's late, we can make it if we run
Oh, thunder road, sit tight, take hold, thunder road

[Verse 6]
Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride, it ain't free
Hey, I know you're lonely and there's words that I ain't spoken
Tonight we'll be free, when all the promises will be broken

[Verse 7]
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road in the skeleton frames of burned-out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
From here, you can hear their engines roar on
But when you get to the porch, they're gone on the wind

[Outro]
So Mary, climb in
It's a town full of losers, I'm pulling out of here to win