Dreams! The Dead! Ghost! Future (2024)

Drowsy Driver

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

In between the states
Of sleep and awake
The sky lets down her hair in grey
Tresses of rain
Long steel snake
Whistling train
Lilac fields where someone
Must have spilled paint
Or is the hill on fire?
Wildflower flames

Drowsy driver
What do you see?

Hold on, drowsy driver
Oh the night rolls on, the road is long
You hold on, drowsy driver
There’s a way back home, a way back home
Drowsy driver, between states

Flattened bird
Side of the road
Feathered hand of cards the wind
Refuses to fold
Shouldered cars appear
Warning of ghosts
Can storm clouds know
The troubles they hold?

For drowsy drivers
Between states

Hold on, drowsy driver
Oh the night rolls on, the road is long
You hold on, drowsy driver
There’s a way back home, a way back home
There’s a way back home, a way back home
For drowsy drivers, between states

The Work

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

I’ve been working all my life
All my life - what’s a few years more
Heard about a job in Maine
Part-time work, honest pay

Oh the work’s never done, never done, never done
No the work’s never done, never done, never done
No the work’s never done, never done, never done
Work’s never done

Pay the bills by the skin of my teeth
Pray to God paycheck lasts the week
My little girl’s got big dreams
Shoot them down; kid’s gotta eat

Well, the work’s never done, never done, never done
No the work’s never done, never done, never done
No the work’s never done, never done, never done
Work’s never done

Hitch the trailer to the truck
As our Golden Years begin to rust
Lord show mercy on us
Let time run out before the money does
Before the money does

Up in the tower there’s a business man
He and the devil got a business plan
My little world in the palm of their hands
They take my money and roll the dice
All the while I’m here rolling dimes

Devil’s work’s never done, never done, never done
No the work’s never done, never done, never done
No the work’s never done, never done, never done
Work’s never done

Over Easy

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

I had a dream we both said we were sorry
And it felt so real almost thought you were here
It felt so real that I tried to get back there
A time travel ticket a dream light as air

In the morning, In the morning

You appear to me again ‘tween the gas range
And the kitchen island
Distant gleaming as a ghost
Slippered feet, hearts in morning robes
Making eggs

Over easy
Over easy

I picture you there in an idle apartment
The TV a searchlight as channels flash by
And there on the counter a card halfway written
You still wanna know if the car runs alright

Are you listening?
Are you missing me?

You appear to me again ‘tween the gas range
And the kitchen island
Distant gleaming as a ghost
Slippered feet, hearts in morning robes
Making eggs

Then I’m 6 years old again
Above the world upon your young man’s shoulders
Half asleep, an anvil’s weight
Draped on you, a runny egg

Over Easy
Over easy

Though I’ll never hear your footsteps
On the stairs again on Sunday mornings
Wherever you may be I hope
Someone’s there in a morning robe
Making eggs

Rest Stop Angels

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

Down by the side of the I-95
Nevada and Oregon, the stateline divides
This blink of a town, good place to break down
Four dollar steak, fill up the tank
And be on your way

Graveyard shift, long haul truckers and drifters
Blow them a kiss, pocket the tips
Hide all the cash ‘tween my box spring and mattress
Duffle bag ready, back of the closet
You still haven’t noticed

Hear me now, rest stop angels
Somewhere over diesel rainbows
The heart knows when to say when

Think of the oil, the distance it travels
Crossing the ocean in giant steel barrels
The things that we trade, the price that we pay
To turn something crude into something of use

Bruises will fade but some things never change
My sister in Boise says I can stay
Look toward the sun with the hope of a hitchhiker’s thumb

Hear me now, rest stop angels
Somewhere over diesel rainbows
The heart knows when to say when

I’ll say when, rest stop angels
Somewhere over diesel rainbows
The heart knows when to say when

Sound & Light

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

The Union Pacific was travelling Northbound
Near midnight when it struck you
In my room I’m awakened by the godawful sound
Of the telephone ring
A sound that’s still lingering

I imagine the sound and light overwhelmed you right away
And how the brakeman must have realized, “Goddammit” just a little too late
And how your father cried and your friends all tried to pray
How they’ve never changed

You are sound and light
You are sound and light

There I was beside myself, it’s a quarter to three
And I’m clawing at the carpet on my knees
Trying to catch my breath
Mine was the last loyal face you ever saw
But I don’t remember yours
How did I forget?

You are sound and light
You are sound and light
You are sound and light
You are sound and light

Flight Risk

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

You always said, “Have an escape plan
In case the cabin fills with smoke.”
So I would practice counting rows to the exit
With my eyes closed

In case the plane goes down, I’ll be prepared
And as the plane goes down, I don’t feel scared

This is not a drill
Things inside are bound to fail sometimes
If not the engine, the human will
It’s just a matter of time

You scrawled a goodbye into the cabinet
A final sendoff to the crew
And as I read it moments after you left it
We start losing altitude

Oxygen masks drop down, I gasp for air
You let the plane go down, but I’ve been prepared

This is not a drill
Things inside are bound to fail sometimes
If not the engine, the human will
Happens all the time

Crash land in the aftermath
Whole thing just broke in half
Don’t send help
Time will pass

Assess the damage, somehow I’ve managed
I even like eating alone
Somewhere you’re crying, God help us all, still flying
But I think my flying days are done

This is not a drill
Things inside are bound to fail sometimes
If not the engine, the human will
Happens all the time

You Take Such Good Care of Me

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

Sorry I am difficult
I know I make things hard
Like when we were out traveling
I nearly fell apart

But you took such good care of me
You took such good care of me
You took such good care of me

I do not sleep too well these days
My mind’s a grinding gear
You check for monsters underneath the bed
Just dust bunnies it’s all clear

You take such good care of me
You take such good care of me
You take such good care of me

You saw me crying yesterday
You asked me what was wrong
And even though I turned away
You put the kettle on

You take such good care of me
You take such good care of me
You take such good, good care of me

Virginia

Music & Lyrics by Rachel Garcia & Thu Tran

You and me, a run-on sentence
Field sparrow song says, “Go on, go on
What you waiting for go on”
Ooh oooh

The month of June a dandelion
Take the yellow hope in your mouth and swallow
Before it blows away
Oooh oooh

If this rain should continue
Ask me to stay here with you
In Virginia

Where the frogs are a chorus - cacophonous
And the wild garlic, fireflies at dusk
Try to tell us something
Saying, “see that light? Go towards it
It is goodness, goodness gracious me oh my”

Through the brush, through the bramble
Thorns remind me this is gonna hurt, just a little
Oooh oooh

Blackberries stain me
Write your questions on my hands dark and sweet
In Virginia

Where the frogs are a chorus - cacophonous
And the wild garlic, fireflies at dusk
Try to tell us something
Saying, “see that light? Go towards it
It is goodness, goodness gracious

Oh my goodness,
Can you hear it ?

Hear the frogs, see the ramps and the wild garlic
In Virginia, in Virginia
You’re the one with the jar, I’m a firefly darlin’
In Virginia, in Virginia
Try to tell us something
See that light? Go towards it
It is goodness goodness gracious me oh my