You were the wild one, dreamer, awkward, outsider
I had friends and family, you had distant fire
I’d watch you on Saturday nights
Where the bright lights cut like glass
And all the while you were working hard
On the gift of your loneliness

You didn’t play safe, never settled for less
You followed your heart into the wilderness
You’d learn from the streets, listen to the sky
Find that place of mountains and lullabies

You hit the road a winter’s night
First Boston then LA
Not looking for fame or glory
Just the things that stood in the way
There were highways and diners and cheap hotels
Falling in and out of grace
From Fresno bars to the desert stars
You were trying to see god’s face

You didn’t play safe, never settled for less
You followed your heart into the wilderness
You’d learn from the streets, listen to the sky
Find that place of mountains and lullabies

Late at night when the stars call out
And the moonlight seems to pray
I still walk beside you, the one who got away

It’s been years since you disappeared
Somewhere vanished in the snow
In my dreams you never died
The traveler just became the road

Here’s to that road that won’t settle for less
That follows the heart into the wilderness
Make peace with the streets, peace with the sky
And find that place of mountains and lullabies

Godspeed …