Craig Finn
Messing with the Settings
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"

We used to post up for days at this place in the flats
And she'd stare off into space and draw smokestacks on her placemat
She had a dwindling grace and a faith in the industry
That never really made sense to me

While we were combing the place trying to come up with the funds
For some phone number friend in some idling car
She said, "This probably isn't where I see myself forever
But for now it's pretty much where we are"

I never really argued with her basic observations
'Cause I wasn't super into confrontation back then
I was mostly just about sitting by the window
Watching the flag in the front just twisting and twisting and twisting

We map where we’ve been by the scars on our skin
We can only sing the songs we've been taught to
Rachel always recommended messing with the settings
She said it's better than settling for whatever they give you

"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
Rachel was practical, she always carried matches
She said she didn't have habits, they're rituals
She threw salt over her shoulder when they rang for last orders
She held her breath when she got up from the table

It never really mattered that she was twelve years older
Except for when we talked about the 1980s
'Cause I was still showing up to Modern European History
While she was trying to hold on to her baby

She started out teasing me, calling me her partner in crime
'Cause neither one of us were supposed to be in the taverns
I had a suspended license and a court case coming up
And the judge said he was seeing some patterns

She said, "At sundown it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on
That all-in-one sensation of speeding and sinking"
Fridays making eyes at guys cashing their checks
And other forms of magical thinking

"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"

They pulled me over five minutes from home
Went off to the workhouse for 38 days
When I got out I drove out to my brother's in Denver
He got me a job at the golf course, I decided to stay there
I heard she'd been living off more of the same
That she got with that guy that took IDs at the door
Must've been last winter when I finally tried to text her
The number I had didn't go through anymore

So I was a little bit surprised when Sam got in touch
Asked if I could be here, told me what did it
It's my first trip back after eight years in Denver
I drove in from the west, the city looks different now

All those luxury lofts that they built in the old factories
Reminded me of her faith in the industry
Rachel did her best with the deal she'd been dealt
And that's what I've got for a eulogy

"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"

"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"
"Sundown, it feels like I'm riding a train I'm not on"