Standard (EADGBE)

they'd hooked you up to a fentanyl drip

to mitigate the pain a little bit

i flew in from pennsylvania

when i heard the hour was coming fast

And i docked in santa barbara

tried to brace myself

but you can't brace yourself

 when the time comes you just have to roll with the blast

 and i'm an 18-wheeler headed down the interstate

 and my brakes are gonna give and i won't know til it's too late

 tires screaming when i lose control

 try not to hurt too many people when i roll

Instrumental

find the harbor freeway and head south

real tired, head kind of light

i found telegraph road, i'd only seen the name on envelopes

found the parking lot and turned right

i felt all the details carving out space in my head

tropicanas on the walkway neon red

between the pain and the pills trying to hold it at bay

stands a traveler going somewhere far away

 and i am an airplane tumbling wing over wing

 try to listen to my instruments they don't say anything

 people screaming when the engines quit

 i hope we're all in crash position when we hit

Instrumental

and then came to your bedside

and as it turns out

i'm not ready

and as though

you were speaking through a thick haze

you said hello to me

we all stood there around you

happy to hear you speak

the last of something bright burning

still burning

 beyond the cancer and the chemotherapy

 and you were a presence full of light upon this earth

 and i am a witness to your life and to its worth

 it's three days later when i get the call

 and there's nobody around to break my fall