Vitals on the Dash (Version 2)

Intro

Defrost humming on low

Fingers thawing on the wheel

Two-twenty on the gauge

Listen

Verse

Defrost blowing soft mist peeling off the glass

Two AM static on the dial watching minutes pass

Numbness was an armor till the winter settled in

Autopilot breathing could not tell where I had been

Tachometer is resting needle floating calm and flat

Six months frozen stiff inside an iron habitat

Cold bottle in the console sweating on the molded gray

Used to keep the tension in my jaw from yesterday

Now my ribs open up let the cabin take the chill

Ten and two grip loosening descending down the hill

Count the amber streetlights bleeding down across the hood

Never thought a quiet breath could feel this kind of good

Tires humming asphalt low vibration in the seat

Blood circulating back from shoulders to the feet

Turn the heater clockwise let the copper coil burn

First time in a year that I am leaning in the turn (turn)

Chorus

Got my vitals on the dash eighty-four upon the gauge (gauge)

Watching thirty miles an hour turn a quiet page (page)

Pulse ticking regular hands coming off the freeze

I was only breathing just to make it to my knees

Now my vitals on the dash warm air across my chest (chest)

Learning how to settle into waking from the rest (rest)

Verse

Used to treat a sunrise like a siren or a threat

Calculating distance from the panic and the debt

Pavement slick with morning fog wipers making arcs

Memory of shivering through empty winter parks

Now the copper pennies in the tray do not collide

I do not press the brake to keep the hollow deep inside

Engine finds its tenor as the gravel turns to slate

Funny how the feeling sneaks around the heavy weight

Felt the collar of my jacket warm against my skin

Used to steer with both eyes bracing for the crash again

Now the rearview mirror shows the skyline falling back

Nothing chasing after me no shadow on the track

Left indicator clicks turning onto Central Way

First gray sliver of the morning making way

Air vent whistling a low and steady note

Swallow down the phantom that was sitting in my throat (throat)

Chorus

Got my vitals on the dash eighty-four upon the gauge (gauge)

Watching thirty miles an hour turn a quiet page (page)

Pulse ticking regular hands coming off the freeze

I was only breathing just to make it to my knees

Now my vitals on the dash warm air across my chest (chest)

Learning how to settle into waking from the rest (rest)

Bridge

No more tapping on my ribs to see if something broke

Clear air entering the chamber where there used to be just smoke

I stayed numb so long I thought the winter had no end

Thought that survival was the only thing I could defend

Now the needle does not spike the temperature is slow

Learning every detail of momentum when I go

Puddle water splashing up against the outer chrome

Felt the quiet rhythm of a runner coming home (home)

Outro

Eighty-four upon the gauge

Defrost clearing out the corners

Pulse in the thumb

Warm cabin

Engine idling in the drive