Meter's Off

[Intro]
[Verse]
Rain streaks on the glass
Watch the minutes pass
City lights turn blue
Waiting for someone new
The meter ticks so slow
Nowhere left to go
Shift is almost done
Chasing the morning sun
[Pre-Chorus]
She stepped inside the door
Like someone I knew before
Just a three-minute ride
With the world tucked inside
I saw her eyes reflect
A soul I could connect
[Chorus]
Oh, the meter’s off tonight
Under the pale street light
Found a book on the floor
I don't feel lonely anymore
Dog-eared pages of rhyme
Frozen in a moment of time
It’s a quiet kind of magic
Nothing here is tragic
[Post-Chorus]
Yeah, it’s a lingering grace
In this empty space
Just a velvet trace
[Verse]
She spoke of summer rain
And a slow-moving train
Her voice was soft and low
Like a jazz radio
Left her secrets behind
For a stranger to find
Paperback full of dreams
Stitched at the worn-out seams
[Chorus]
Oh, the meter’s off tonight
Under the pale street light
Found a book on the floor
I don't feel lonely anymore
Dog-eared pages of rhyme
Frozen in a moment of time
It’s a quiet kind of magic
Nothing here is tragic
[Bridge]
Bourbon in a paper cup
Sun is almost coming up
Muted trumpet starts to play
Chasing all the ghosts away
Maybe we are just sparks
Drifting through the dark
Looking for a sign
On a broken yellow line
[Solo]
(Subtle scat improvisation over Rhodes piano)
Shoo-be-do, dah-dah-day
Let the rhythm wash away
Hmm, yeah, just a little bit of hope
At the end of the rope
[Verse]
I read a line or two
Thinking about what’s true
Small magic in the grit
I’m making sense of it
A cab is just a shell
With a story to tell
I’ll keep the book for now
I’ll find my way somehow
[Chorus]
Oh, the meter’s off tonight
Under the pale street light
Found a book on the floor
I don't feel lonely anymore
Dog-eared pages of rhyme
Frozen in a moment of time
It’s a quiet kind of magic
Nothing here is tragic
[Post-Chorus]
Yeah, it’s a lingering grace
In this empty space
Just a velvet trace
[Outro]