Nobody Waved Back

[Verse 1] I came in past the water tower With a suitcase on the floor The diner sign was missing letters The bank had changed its door Mrs. Keller at the counter Looked straight through my face She asked me where I came from Like I’d wandered into place [Chorus] Nobody waved back When I rolled through town I knew every mile of county road But nothing knew me now There’s a boy inside the window Wearing my old black cap He looked away before I did Nobody waved back [Verse 2] The house behind the cedar fence Still leaned into the rain Dad’s tools were rusting in the shed Mom’s flowers grew wild again I found my name beneath the stairs Carved shallow in the wood I traced it with my finger But it never felt like it should [Chorus] Nobody waved back When I rolled through town I knew every mile of county road But nothing knew me now There’s a boy inside the window Wearing my old black cap He looked away before I did Nobody waved back [Bridge] I’m twenty-four and tired enough To miss what wasn’t mine The past is just a locked-up room With somebody else’s light I said my name out loud once And heard a stranger answer The porch board gave a little creak Like it remembered better [Verse 3] At dawn I took the long way out Past the football field The goalposts stood like broken bones The grass had gone to seed A little girl beside the road Held up a paper flag I slowed down, but she watched me pass And never lifted that [Final Chorus] Nobody waved back When I rolled through town I knew every mile of county road But nothing knew me now There’s a boy inside the window I left him with my hat He looked away before I did Nobody waved back [Outro] Nobody waved back And I don’t blame them for that I was looking for somebody I don’t know how to get back