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LOST SOULS IN TUCUMCARI (2007)


(Verse)

She left home in darkness, in tears and distraught
In the winter of ’78
Picked up by someone who never was caught
And must have been from out-of-state
Another unquiet soul finds Tucumcari
As if she were fatefully led
Room 29 in the Motel Safari
Lifelessly sprawled on the bed

(Chorus)

Turn out the lights, keep the curtains drawn
Do you hear the thousand souls
Who sadly linger on?
I should move along, set out on my way
But the ghosts of Tucumcari
Are calling out for me to stay

(Verse)

The unfaithful wife who got in the way
Of a thirty-eight caliber slug
The traveling salesman who ended his day
By spilling his life on the rug
There are hundreds of rooms and they each tell a story
Of hearts that broke under the strain
That staggered from hell to a new purgatory
Embraced by the desert terrain

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

Maybe she was drunk
Maybe she was running
I’ll never know why she ran into the road
All I remember
Was the look in her eyes
Before I felt both of our lives explode


(Verse)

The city approaches, my heart feels the shock
My hands grip the steering wheel tight
Check into a room, and turn the lock
And stare at the ceiling all night
Tears fill my eyes as I listen intent-
Ly to voices that come from the wall
I’m just a lost soul who can hear their lament
And someday I’ll answer the call

(Chorus)


I did actually spend a night in Tucumcari, at the Safari motel. The town is little more than a strip of 1950’s motels, a stopoff for Truckers.

I went to the lounge on a Monday night, and was one of the only people in the place.

As far as I know, "Tucumcari" sometimes rhymes with "Safari" and "sorry" though I understand some people pronounce it to rhyme with "carry"

A composer has expressed interest in this lyric.

crumpled paper