A Yellow Hum

[Verse 1]
My front porch bulb is a '75 Sylvania,
Been burning yellow since the last Tuesday in October.
I watch her flick the switch at dusk, a nervous habit,
A single stitch of light to pull his car back over.

[Chorus]
And there's a yellow hum against the Blue Ridge quiet,
A fragile circuit that refuses to be broken.
Just burning wattage for a ghost out in the driveway,
The truest promise that has never once been spoken.

[Verse 2]
A half-done model plane, the glue gone dry and brittle.
A dog-eared paperback of some cheap sci-fi western.
One scuffed-up hiking boot, a faded Luray Caverns ticket.
The phone charger still plugged in, without a question.

[Chorus]
And there's a yellow hum against the Blue Ridge quiet,
A fragile circuit that refuses to be broken.
Just burning wattage for a ghost out in the driveway,
The truest promise that has never once been spoken.

[Bridge]
(Vocal whispers, rhythmic, over only a sparse, dry kick drum and finger snaps)
"Leave it on," she said.
A single thread.
The cold glass on the pane.
The coming rain.

[Chorus]
And there's a yellow hum against the Blue Ridge quiet,
A fragile circuit that refuses to be broken.
Just burning wattage for a ghost out in the driveway,
The truest promise that has never once been spoken.

[Outro]
Yeah, there's a yellow hum...
Still burning for someone.