Back in the 90s I clipped a short article that I had read in the newspaper. It was a brief description about a woman who had died having made a mistake driving her car in a life or death moment: she had tried to escape a wildfire but instead was engulfed in the middle of its fury. The last line of the story was "...she made a wrong turn and drove into the flames."
On a number of occasions that short article has popped up to face me, be it hidden in a folder in a box in the garage or between the pages of a book (yes, the clipping has been moved around) and I find myself reading those words, which always give me pause: "...she made a wrong turn and drove into the flames." I don't know her name or anything else about her, but she's driving around in my head again. These lyrics are for her.
She Drove Into the Flames
she gripped her hands upon the wheel
so tight she thought they'd break
smoke stalked her like a cougar
there was fire on the lake
the wind was blowing from the east
she raced it to the west
dust was kicking in the air
the sun had all but vanished
did she know the road was ending
the one without a name
did she know her life was over
when she drove into the flames
she is sitting right beside me
when she drives into the flames
(chorus)
i can't find you in the water
i can't see you in the sky
when your world's on fire
ain't no time to wonder why
oh, darling, i still seek you
i will hold you just the same
you're still turning in the distance
as you drive into the flames
her father, was he a good man
did her mother hold her close
did she run along the river
did she listen to its ghosts
with her head upon her pillow
did she dream of flying high
did she touch the stars in heaven
did the light shine in her eyes
did she know the road was ending
the one without a name
did she know her life was over
when she drove into the flames
she is sitting right beside me
when she drives into the flames
(chorus)
i can't find you in the water
i can't see you in the sky
when your world's on fire
ain't no time to wonder why
oh, darling, i still seek you
i will hold you just the same
you're still turning in the distance
as you drive into the flames
++++
On a number of occasions that short article has popped up to face me, be it hidden in a folder in a box in the garage or between the pages of a book (yes, the clipping has been moved around) and I find myself reading those words, which always give me pause: "...she made a wrong turn and drove into the flames." I don't know her name or anything else about her, but she's driving around in my head again. These lyrics are for her.
She Drove Into the Flames
she gripped her hands upon the wheel
so tight she thought they'd break
smoke stalked her like a cougar
there was fire on the lake
the wind was blowing from the east
she raced it to the west
dust was kicking in the air
the sun had all but vanished
did she know the road was ending
the one without a name
did she know her life was over
when she drove into the flames
she is sitting right beside me
when she drives into the flames
(chorus)
i can't find you in the water
i can't see you in the sky
when your world's on fire
ain't no time to wonder why
oh, darling, i still seek you
i will hold you just the same
you're still turning in the distance
as you drive into the flames
her father, was he a good man
did her mother hold her close
did she run along the river
did she listen to its ghosts
with her head upon her pillow
did she dream of flying high
did she touch the stars in heaven
did the light shine in her eyes
did she know the road was ending
the one without a name
did she know her life was over
when she drove into the flames
she is sitting right beside me
when she drives into the flames
(chorus)
i can't find you in the water
i can't see you in the sky
when your world's on fire
ain't no time to wonder why
oh, darling, i still seek you
i will hold you just the same
you're still turning in the distance
as you drive into the flames
++++
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