The Cantina (Ghosts)

I was driving through west Texas towns on a late dusty night

Like a moth and a flame I was drawn into that old Cantina light

With an act of something I don't do I walked In and claimed a stool

I sensed something in the air and wondered If I was a fool

A huddled lone shape two stools away sipped on a cold Lone Star

An old man looking straight ahead toward the mirror behind the bar

The dimness of the neon and the smoke obscured his eyes

But I could see in his expression that his mind could see for miles

His voice broke through the silence he never turned his head

"It's not often that I stop to think about what might have been."

"Son I ought to leave you with something I'm glad I had."

With a long swallow from his glass he calmly started In

If she asks to dance, the answer's always Yes!

Make plans and look out West

But in the moment find your rest

Show them they can count on you, more often than you say it

With love be sure to say it, even If you think they know it

Welcome all of your mistakes, they shape the man you'll become

Be proud of your journey, where you'll go and where you're from

Listen to their stories, don't you know we've all got one

I'm not sure when he finished, but there I sat alone

Dropped some cash down on the bar, heard the Texas winds moan

I asked myself, "where does he get off, trying to pass on what he knows?"

I couldn't shake the feeling of something urgent in his tone

As time went by I found that I cared a whole lot more

About the words he said that stormy night all those years before

On occasion but to no avail I'd go hunting neon lights

For an old cantina, and an old man, to let him know that I was trying

If she asks to dance, the answer's always Yes!

Make plans and look out West

But in the moment find your rest

Show them they can count on you, more often than you say it

With love be sure to say it, even If you think they know it

Welcome all of your mistakes, they shape the man you'll become

Be proud of your journey, where you'll go and where you're from

Listen to their stories, don't you know we've all got one

It's been 40 years and I'm sure that old man has gone away

I'm still dancing in my living room showing love everyday

My plans to head out West became other dreams and homes and hearts

I've heard so many stories and I'm humbled to play my part

This story ends and just begins late the other night

A longing in my soul made me take one more drive

Mysterious and welcome little Texas towns blurred by

Up ahead on the horizon were those old Cantina lights

Just as I remembered was the mirror behind the bar

I sat down on his stool sipping on a cold Lone Star

Then like something from a dream the door swung wide, could it be him?

I turned and I shuddered as a younger me walked In