Thrasher

Thrasher

Neil Young

They were hiding behind hay bales

They were planting in the full moon

They had given all they had for something new

But the light of day was on them

They could see the thrashers coming

And the water shone like diamonds in the dew

And I was just getting up, hit the road before it's light

Trying to catch an hour on the sun

When I saw those thrashers rolling by

Looking more than two lanes wide

I was feelin' like my day had just begun

Where the eagle glides, descending

There's an ancient river bending

Through the timeless gorge of changes

Where sleeplessness awaits

I searched out my companions

Who were lost in crystal canyons

When the aimless blade of science

Slashed the pearly gates

It was then that I knew I'd had enough

Burned my credit card for fuel

Headed out to where the pavement turns to sand

With a one way ticket to the land of truth

And my suitcase in my hand

How I lost my friends, I still don't understand

They had the best selection

They were poisoned with protection

There was nothing that they needed

Nothing left to find

They were lost in rock formations

Or became park bench mutations

On the sidewalks and in the stations

They were waiting, waiting

So I got bored and left them there

They were just dead weight to me

Better down the road without that load

Brings back the time when I was eight or nine

I was watchin' my mama's TV

It was that great Grand Canyon rescue episode

Where the vulture glides, descending

On an asphalt highway bending

Through libraries and museums, galaxies and stars

Down the windy halls of friendship

To the rose clipped by the bullwhip

The motel of lost companions

Waits with heated pool and bar

But me I'm not stopping there

Got my own row left to hoe

Just another line in the field of time

When the thrasher comes, I'll be stuck in the sun

Like the dinosaurs in shrines

But I'll know the time has come

To give what's mine