The Great Migration: Atlantic Avenue

Atlantic Avenue

Thirty miles till tomorrow
And she ain't got nothing but a mermaid's purse
Trouble's dragging the coattails again
Across the dead lands we traverse
A thumb pointing to the desert
Looks like another visitor center castaway
Hitchhiking to the east coast
In a... prom dress and a black beret

She's wearing her lead skin
And her broken window eyes
Grinning like a jackal bleeding
With vultures circling the sky

(Chorus)
And she got nothing but a mermaid's purse
There's nothing but trouble on her way
Walking down Atlantic Avenue
I got no plans to stay, I'm just a-passing through

The dogs sleep in the street
Pawnshops and tattoo parlors are all I see
A dozen bars down by the naval base
And some sticky finger novelties
Pink flamingos on the manor lawn
The bachelor with the net cam stare
Undresses her from across the bar
Recording all of the waves in her hair

And says he's headed that way
If she's looking for a ride
So where's the luck in this rabbit's foot?
Always the bridesmaid - never the bride

(Repeat chorus)

Drop a letter in the mailbox
Probably should call back home but what is there to say?
Coffee ring on the Monday paper
Café's buzzing with a talk like suede
Been running like a boomerang
After awhile don't it all start to feel the same?
You meet these ghosts as you cross each bridge
Till this scar tissue's all you've got to claim

So just... jazz a little around
Soul searching in the lost and found
The traffic lights all know that I'm leaving
But there's one just like her... in every damn town!

(Repeat chorus)