Robert Earl Keen, Jr.: Not a Drop of Rain

Streets are almost empty, shops are closed down
There's not a soul left in the bar to tell my troubles to
Think I'll walk down to the river that runs just south of town
I hate like hell when there ain't nothin' left to do
But stand beneath the river bridge and listen for the train
It's been a long hot summer, not a drop of rain

I broke down in December
I headed for the coast
I thought the wind and water would elevate my mind
I surfaced in the springtime feelin' like a ghost
Missin' more than ever the things I left behind
Now I'm standin' on this riverbank and still cannot explain
It's been a long hot summer, not a drop of rain
My bag is full of letters unopened and unread
I'm sure they'd tell the story of worry and of form
My heart is beating heavy with all we left unsaid
I swear to you I never meant you any harm
But sacrifice and compromise could never stand the strain
It's been a long hot summer, not a drop of rain

Tonight I'll close my eyes again and try to see your face
And listen for your voice to tell me it's alright to sleep
Convince myself I'll wake up in another time and place
Knowin' all the while that it's a promise I can't keep
A string of broken promises, another link of chain
It's been a long hot summer, not a drop of rain

The children on the playground, the lovers in the shade
Remind me of a life and time that feels more like a dream
When the sound of love and laughter was the music that we played
As we lay beside the waters of a never ending stream
Now the stream has gone to hiding, the dream lives on in vain
It's been a long hot summer, not a drop of rain

The clouds are building slowly on the skyline to the east
The wind and dust are dancing like the devil across the lake
I could try to find a bottle or try to find a priest
Salvation won't be traveling either road I take
So I turn my collar to the wind that echoes this refrain
It's been a long hot summer, not a drop of rain