Temporary, Like A Tourist

Up in Seattle I was 
Waiting on a friend, 
But no one showed, 
So I got on the train instead.
I was your mountain mama, 
Your hills of Minnesota,
But you had left me
Outside waiting
In a night that was dead. 

You were useless and
You were idle but you
Painted yourself out
To be my best friend.
I got lost on top of the City
Looking down on the lights 
And the shitty little fights 
And all the people on the street
Gawping up at the Space Needle. 

And we were temporary like tourists
We both knew we were gonna lose it.
We were just day dreaming
We were taking in the sights.
We had boarded that 
Pleasure cruise
But we had got blown 
Out of the water.
You never did do quite
What you oughta...

We were in it for the kicks
But you seemed to think 
Was it was all a bum trip.
I got sad,
You got sick.
I think we were 
Falling angels chasing after
One more night of vertigo
In forever flight
Failing to make any 
Of it right.

Down in San Francisco, 
I got to waiting 
Cause I missed you, 
And all the faces
That I searched amongst
Were not you.
And I just knew that you 
Were going to leave me waiting as
I was standing staring at the sea lions
On the dock. 
And the California palm trees
Didn't harm me.
But I was hurting as
I frittered ten days looking out 
Over the water and the waves 
I knew that boat had sailed
Down along the bay 
Taking you away, maybe
Baby, I should have kicked you.

But we were just temporary like tourists
We were day tripping
We were on that scenic detour.
We were climbing those big
Redwood trees and
We were playing rock
On the radio breeze
And rolled along to 
To the rhythm of the road.
I was the Queen....
And you were the toad.
You were the bread I was 
The butter, 
I was the freedom fighter, 
You were the bad boy nutter
I was the up and away
You were always 
Promising to do it tomorrow
Until Tomorrow became
Yesterday.

Los Angeles moved so quickly, 
I waited and this 
Time you didn't miss me, 
So we got down the 
Road and out of the city.
There was all kinds of situations
Disappointments, complications
And boy, you tried to ditch me.
You said you were no good
And I had to agree you were
A low down common hood
But you were the only protector
I had who cared about me.
We made it to San Jose,
Drove by the Mystery House
Along the way, 
We stopped for gas
And candy bars but you weren't 
Feeling temporary like a tourist
As I longed to jump out and touch 
The moon and stars. 
But you told me, honey
I aint no 'here today, gone tomorrow'
Don't mistake me for a tourist.

We were faded out like jeans
We were running along on empty
There was laughter and there was screams, 
Joni played softly in the firelight breeze,
We scrambled in the dust storms
And hung out in ghost towns
We were running for the smiles 
We were running for the miles.
We were doing what we did,
We were doing what we must.
We were taking in the mountain passes
We were smashing all the mirrors
And rolling wheels in 
The gravel and the mud
We were fishing in the lakes;
We were taking us a break 
From all the troubles,
While you were 
Always brewing up double
The amount that we 
Seemed to have yesterday.

We were chasing the wild turkey.
We were howling with the coyote.
We were snakehandling bastards:
I was softer, you were a martyr.
We were hanging out with legends
We were friends with the heavens
We were playing for the applause
For the laughter and the cause
Of buying a little more time
Avoiding reality. 
I kept a ledger
Of how much I owed you
It was better
Than arguing that I had
Something more than that to offer. 
But you never felt the same
You never took the blame
For all the tears you caused 
To fall along the way.

Salinas and Big Sur,
Oregon I'd rather blur
Out of my memory,
Erase it from my brain.
Driving up to Washington,
Bridges and you were gone
Again, always driving back 
Down to her. 
And now you can't say nothing
Nothing permanent 
Nothing witty, 
Nothing silly
Nothing broken
Nothing lost. 
And nothing breeds more nothing
After all ain't it something
When all you ever loved
And wanted gets so lost 

I guess we were 
Just temporary, like tourists
We were melting like April snow.
We were a couple of sneaker waves
On the shoreline as the children played
And the dusk fell softly
Upon me and about you. 

We were in it for the short haul
We were domestic only
Strictly part time
We were travelling
By the hour and the day. 
We were that major league 
Indecision called off due to rain.
We made it to the 7th inning
But lost the perfect game.
We were just travelling
We were just having a look-see
We were just passing through
We never settled
We were that overnight bag
You were that last crumb of cake.
You were that steak knife in the back.
You were everything you couldn't
Hack, you were mean spirited
Intolerant, but never fake. 
I guess, baby, you were
The empty bottle you threw
To the bottom of the lake.
In short, you were both 
An angel and a monster. 
But that is ok, we all 
Have our bones to 
Pick and break. 

All I have left now are the photos 
And the scars to remind me
Of the beauty and the loss
Of how it was when we were 
Momentarily
Temporary, like a tourist.