"Source Decay" - written by john darnielle ruxxell@comcast.net ------------------------------------------ E--A--E---A E Once a week I make the drive F# A two hours east to check the Austin post office box. E F# I take the detour through our old neighborhood, A B see all the Chevy Impalas in their front yards up on blocks, A B and I park in an alley and I read through the postcards E A that you continue to send: F# A where as indirectly as you can you ask what I remember. E B I like these torture devices from my old best friend. C# Well I'll tell you what I know F# like I swore I always would -- A B I don't think it's gonna do you any good: E A E A B A E I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok down toward the water. AEAE E I always get a late start, F# when the sun's going down A and the traffic's thinning out E and the glare is hard to take. I wish the E F# West Texas highway was a Mbius strip -- A B I could ride it out forever. When I feel my heart break, A B I almost swear I hear it happen, it's that clear and that hard. E A I come in off the highway and I park in my front yard. C# I fall out of the car F# like a hostage from a plane, A think of you a while and B start wishing it would rain. E A E A B A E I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok down toward the water. AEAE E I come into the house, F# put on a pot of coffee, A E walk the floors a little while. E F# I set the postcard on a table with all the others like it, A B start sorting through the pile. A I check the pictures and the postmarks B and the captions and the stamps E A for signs of any pattern at all. F# A When I come up empty-handed, the feeling almost overwhelms me. E B I let a few of my defenses fall C# F# and I smile a bitter smile -- it's not a pretty thing to see -- A B I think about a railroad platform back in 1983 EAEB A E and I remember the train headed south out of Bangkok down toward toward the water