I set out on my own, look out here I come
Whatever there might be, I was gonna get me some
Pure gunpowder, I was ready to explode
The fuse was lit, I was out on the hard road
With the pedal pressed down hard, I jammed it in fifth gear
As long as I had fuel, I could drive on out of here
Following my engine, wherever it might go
Tearin' up the tar, screamin' down the hard road
I learned that what I wanted, lay beyond where I could see
Sometimes it seems like findin' it, 's about as tough as it might be
Pushin' so hard, my desperation showed
Thinkin' 'bout all the time, I was burnin' on the hard road
I stopped in for water, I was runnin' a little hot
Topped off the radiator, bought me a double shot
I asked how far, to where I might unload
Before the laughin' stopped, I was back out on the hard road
I never thought about it, I never once looked back
I wasn't scared of nothin', out ahead of the thunder crack
But somethin' was chasin' me, and it wouldn't be slowed
Comin' up fast behind me, high beams on the hard road
Now you could buy a map, you could draw a line
Calculate your mileage, estimate your time
But you come to a river, and the river's overflowed
Spinnin' your wheels, doin' time on the hard road
Now I'm lyin' in some bed, prayin' I might die
No one can hear me, hard as I try
Don't know how I got here, suspect that I was towed
Got no memory at all, of comin' in from the hard road
Time has stalled, nothin's movin' at all
I know what's happening, I hear the voices in the hall
I almost made it, to the final episode
Just had a couple more miles to go, down the hard road
I learned everything I know, on the hard road
Someone have mercy on my soul, take me out to the hard road