Robert Earl Keen - Not a Drop of Rain lyrics

Streets are almost empty, the shops are all closed down There's not a soul left in the bar to tell my troubles to Think I'll walk down to the river that runs just south of town I hate like hell when there ain't nothin' left to do But stand beneath the river bridge and listen for the train It's been a long, hot summer, not a drop of rain Well, I broke down in December, I headed for the coast I thought the wind and water would elevate my mind I surfaced in the springtime feelin' like a ghost Missin' more than ever the things I left behind Now I'm standin' on this riverbank and still cannot explain It's been a long, hot summer, not a drop of rain My bag is full of letters, unopened and unread I'm sure they'd tell the story of worry and of form My heart is beating heavy with all we left unsaid I swear to you, I never meant you any harm But sacrifice and compromise could never stand the strain It's been a long, hot summer, not a drop of rain Tonight I'll close my eyes again, try to see your face And listen for your voice to tell me it's all right to sleep Convince myself I'll wake up in another time and place Knowin' all the while that it's a promise I can't keep A string of broken promises, another link of chain It's been a long, hot summer, not a drop of rain The children on the playground, the lovers in the shade Remind me of a life and time that feels more like a dream When the sound of love and laughter was the music that we played As we lay beside the waters of a never-ending stream Now the stream has gone to hiding, the dream lives on in vain It's been a long, hot summer, not a drop of rain The clouds are building slowly on the skyline to the east The wind and dust are dancing like the devil 'cross the lake I could try to find a bottle or try to find a priest Salvation won't be traveling either road I take So I turn my collar to the wind that echoes this refrain It's been a long, hot summer, not a drop of rain