That Bus Never Comes

[Verse 1]

The one-eyed bartender counts the bottles twice

Keeps a cracked photograph beneath the ice

A woman with a hat, or maybe just a stain

He says she knew his name before the rain

Wednesday sleeps beside the cigarette tin

One white tooth showing through a crooked grin

He lifts his head when the front door sighs

Then settles back beneath the yellow flies

[Chorus]

That bus never comes, no, that bus never comes

The timetable curls where the damp wind runs

I’ve got two coins, a coat, and a borrowed flame

And nobody left who remembers my name

[Verse 2]

The bartender polishes a glass with his sleeve

Like a little bright church he still might believe

The photograph buckles, the faces swim

He tells me, “Don’t ask what happened to him”

Wednesday growls low at the empty street

Rain puts a dark shine under every seat

Somewhere a chain knocks time on a drain

The old room leans toward the window again

[Chorus]

That bus never comes, no, that bus never comes

The timetable curls where the damp wind runs

I’ve got two coins, a coat, and a borrowed flame

And nobody left who remembers my name

[Bridge]

If it arrives, we’ll hear it before we see it

A tired blue mouth with no one inside

You can bring the dog, I’ll bring the picture

We’ll ride till the river forgets the tide

[Verse 3]

The one-eyed bartender turns out the sign

Wednesday is dreaming of some better line

The cracked photograph rests by the till

Three small ghosts waiting, and waiting still

[Outro]

That bus never comes

But the door keeps breathing

Wednesday, don’t wake me

The rain is leaving

That bus never comes