Song Lyrics

I woke her up twice in the middle of the night
To ask what her name is and where she might live
To ask how many fingers she saw in this light
To ask if she might know what gives

She said we rolled that Camero like a cowboy cigarette
Out on the highway in a puddle of beer
That's just about how close to death you're gonna get
Till the only thing standing is fear

[Chorus:]
Singing, oh darling, faces were changed
The names of the innocent, the story at five
Oh darling, faces get strange
But only the song survives

She said, "Now, don't you remember they put a patch on your eye?
Like Dread Pirate Roberts, you looked so unplanned
They cut off my wedding ring and you started to cry
A one-eyed Niagara Falls man."

[Chorus]

I said, "But I never married" - I said with surprise
"And is this the diamond you said that you lost?
It was under my eyelids when they flushed out my eyes
Hell, and I don't know what the thing cost."

[Chorus x 2]

But I woke up sweating to breakfast in bed
And there were my children, and there was my wife
Post-traumatic stress, of just a bump on the head
Or maybe the ride of my life

[Chorus x 2]

John Hiatt

The duration of Only the Song Survives is 4:00 minutes and seconds.