Maps Lyrics

Make this part look rugged
Mmm-mmm
Allegheny plateau
This dark shaded stripe
Bum bum bum
Is the front

Paint the long ridges
And valleys below
Mmm-mmm
Our town is this dot

Quick dashes mark the property ends
Beach creek
A road that turns and bends
Little squares for houses
Strung along roads
The land transfigured
Into topographic codes

Maps show you what is simple and true
I'm laying out a bird's eye view
Where did he travel?
What did he see?
A sweeping atlas
of my dad's mythology

Dad was born on this farm
Here's our house
Here's the spot where he died
I can draw a circle
His whole life fits inside

Four miles from our door
I-80 ran from shore to shore
On its way from the Castro
To Christopher Street
The road not taken
Just four miles from our door

You were born on this farm
Here's our house
Here's the spot where you died
I can draw a circle
I can draw a circle
You lived your life inside