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

Don't you 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
Oh and that's alright with me

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 I'm no hero, that's understood
All the redemption I can offer is beneath this dirty hood
With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey, what else can we do now?

Except roll down the window
And let the wind blow back your hair
Well the night's busting 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
Oh-oh come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh-oh Thunder Road, oh Thunder Road, Thunder Road
Lying out there like a killer in the sun
And I know it's late, but we can make it if we run
Oh Thunder Road, sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

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
And I know you're lonely and there's words that I ain't spoken
Tonight we'll be free, all the promises'll be broken

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
Graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
In the lonely cool before dawn
You hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch, they're gone
On the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers and we're pulling out of here to win