Death. Dragons. And the rider's way.

Just rambling tonight...indulge me if you will.

Music. Passion. Riding into the night. The shiver when dropping into a cool hollow. The adrenaline flowing when chasing the lightning in the distance...and the uncertainty when you suddenly realize you've no idea whether you are chasing it...or it's chasing you.

Cool. Balmy. The unknown things lurking in the night.

Tasting the wind.

Y'all may know I ride extensively at night...the dayside too...but the night is where the magic grows.

Knowing the danger...and not simply knowing on an intelectual level. I've seen it. Felt it. Fought it. Experienced it.

Sacrificed much to it.

And yet still I ride. It heals the soul...or prevents it from breaking...or perhaps...it was broken long ago and the ride keeps it from simply wandering off.

We lift up our prayer against the odds
And fear the silence is the voice of God

I've never known for sure.

***

Music is important to the ride. Sometimes it's the music in my head, sometimes the music on my player, sometimes it's the music of the universe...but there is always music. The magic would die without it you see.

I don't know if Emmylou Harris ever rode a motorcycle...but she understood.

I could write an essay on how this song relates to the rider's way...and someday I probably will. For now, please, just indulge me and give her a listen. The lyrics are below. Follow along. See how it connects...if it does for you.

And then go fly...


The Pearl Emmylou Harris	powered by Aeva

The lyrics...follow along.

, The Pearl

Oh the dragons are gonna fly tonight
They're circling low and inside tonight
It's another round in the losing fight
Out along the great divide tonight

We are aging soldiers in an ancient war
Seeking out some half remembered shore
We drink our fill and still we thirst for more
Asking if there's no heaven what is this hunger for?

Our path is worn our feet are poorly shod
We lift up our prayer against the odds
And fear the silence is the voice of God

And we cry Alleluia Alleluia
We cry Alleluia

Sorrow is constant and the joys are brief
The seasons come and bring no sweet relief
Time is a brutal but a careless thief
Who takes our lot but leaves behind the grief

It is the heart that kills us in the end
Just one more old broken bone that cannot mend
As it was now and ever shall be amen

Amen. Amen.

And we cry Alleluia Alleluia
We cry Alleluia

So there'll be no guiding light for you and me
We are not sailors lost out on the sea
We were always headed toward eternity
Hoping for a glimpse of Galilee

Like falling stars from the universe we are hurled
Down through the long loneliness of the world
Until we behold the pain and become the pearl

The pearl. The pearl.

Cryin´ Alleluia Alleluia
We cry Alleluia

And we cry Alleluia Alleluia
We cry Alleluia

Life's short. Let's ride.