The Ghost in the Jewel Case

Dust on the shelf... and a story I can't hold

Drove down to the old store where the dusty shelves still lean Bought myself a story in a box of cellophane and green Got home and pulled the wrapper, set it spinnin on the floor And the truck-stop neon told me there was nothin there no more

My daddy kept his records in a crate behind the door You could hold em, you could drop em, you could love em to the core Now they hand you little numbers and they call it travelin light But you cant pass down a password to your boy on a Friday night

There's a ghost in the jewel case, a holler with no sound A title and a picture and a code I never found They took the open highway, left me holdin to the lace Just me and the ghost, son, the ghost in the jewel case

So I cut my own recording, put a disc back in the slot Somethin you can hold at sundown, somethin time cannot Let the data drift to heaven on a satellite of rust I'll keep a little circle here in somethin you can trust

The cloud dont know your kitchen, dont know your mamas name It'll take back what it gave you and it wont feel any shame But a thing you hold is yours, friend, through the dry years and the rain So I'll leave you somethin solid you can find again

There's a ghost in the jewel case, a holler with no sound A title and a picture and a code I never found They took the open highway, left me holdin to the lace Just me and the ghost, son, the ghost in the jewel case

Just me and the ghost, son... but this one's yours This one stays...