Lyrics

The Ghost

She's looking out the window
At the rolling clouds below
A solid gray expanse that cuts her off
From what she knows
From the infinite horizon
To the in-flight movie guide
She will find something, somehow
To get her through this ride

The flight attendants coming through
To gather up the cups
She puts away her earphones
Folds the tray table up
She feels the weather changing
As the plane starts heading down
And slips into a snowstorm
On the outskirts her town

And it's just three hours from her life to this town
It's half a lifetime trying to get away
Now she's haunted by the ghost of lost potential
I disappoint, therefore I am, that's what she'd say
Crazy, but it's true, that's what she'd say

This old town had always been
A sort of show and tell
With diplomas and distinctions
And receipts for doing well
Each one held up to the light
Of prizes won before
To her it was so obvious -
She should be doing more

So she roared into the city
And she blazed herself a trail
With boys and boardrooms battled for
With skin and tooth and nail
It took six years to get that
Corner office with the view
Like the townhouse that she rented
It had room for two

And her nose was to the grindstone
And her back was to the wall
In the shadow of each victory
Was the specter of the fall

And it's just three hours from her life to this town
Where constant movement keeps the fear at bay
Still, she's haunted by the ghost of lost potential
I'm doing all I can, that's what she'd say
After all these years, that's what she'd say

The taxi driver leaves her
On the sidewalk in the snow
The evening chill grows deeper
But her legs can't seem to go
The porch light stretches toward her
Like a carpet on the lawn
Her memory running, hot and cold
She's frightened and she's drawn

And she stands outside the light now
Though it's what she needs the most
This visit has potential
If she'd just give up the ghost

And it's just three hours from her life to this town
But closing the real gap is touch and go
She blames it on the ghost of lost potential
But she's the one out standing in the snow
She's the one out standing in the snow