Pete McDonald: Music

After the Rockies

(Pete McDonald and Elise Huneke Stone)

After the Rockies, he wandered on back home.
Climbed a hill near the flat of that family farm.
The planet shrugged its shoulder, a little rise in the ground,
and all the happy people climbing up and skiing down.
After the Rockies, he just had to laugh.
Smiled at the changes, and followed his own path.

And after the ocean, the river doesn�t seem so wide,
and after the earthquake, you might know a new tremble inside.
People keep on saying you can�t go home again.
After the Rockies, you know you just don�t go home the same.

After the nightmare, I was too afraid to dream.
Saw strangers everywhere, crowding every scene.
Long nights I�d wander, I could not take my rest.
Lost in the heartland in the middle of my chest.
Till late in the evening, I come to find I�m changed.
There in your company, the landscape rearranged.

And after midnight, the black turns back to day,
and after silence comes something I gotta say.
Don�t be afraid that you can�t go home again.
After the Rockies, you know you just don�t go home the same.

There are things that mark us, give us after and before.
Sometimes it takes passing through to recognize a door.
Roads we traveled, lessons we have learned.
Mud on our boot heels, pages we have turned.
I�m coming home to you, babe, not what I might do instead.
Wake up in the morning on the warm side of the bed.

And after the ocean, the river doesn�t seem so wide,
and after the earthquake, you might know a new tremble inside.
People keep on saying you can�t go home again.
After the Rockies, you know you just don�t go home the same.