down near midnight

far out on the highway
there was a red dawn
and a dark
i was speeding
inside a racing car
before shifting into park
like an adolescent
in a trance
i saw a fiery planet
at a dance
and when the music played,
voices grew loud;
lots of lonely people stood
but i only saw the crowd
and it was near closing time
when my bottle made a scene
i took another sip
and heard the audience scream
in another second
past the sun and round the moon
i tried to sing another song
but fell completely out of tune
and all those voices
in full-throated battle yell
emptied all the human shadows
from a hidden corner of my private hell:
there's an angry core,
doomsday clock ticking down near midnight;
my eyes crying tears,
blinded by the light.
there's madness on the loose,
raining above a funeral shroud,
falling hard on the land
from a passing thundercloud.
strangers with their ashen faces
pointing to the sky,
once asked to save a simple thing
now no one could reply.
far out on the highway
there was a red dawn
and a dark
i was speeding
inside a racing car
before shifting into park
like an adolescent
in a trance
i saw a fiery planet
at a dance
and when the music played,
voices grew loud
lots of lonely people stood
but i only saw the crowd.