Petrichor Static

[Verse 1]
The August heat breaks on the hood of the Prius, 11pm sharp.
A smell like wet chalk dust and river silt starts rising from the dark.
You roll your window down, you say it's beautiful, you take a breath so deep.
I'm tasting thunderstorm warnings I thought I'd buried in my sleep.

[Chorus]
(He sings) This ain't just weather, it's a wire you tripped
(Backing Vocals) It's only rain now
(He sings) In the back of my skull, a rusted-out fuse box just flipped
(Backing Vocals) Let it wash away now

[Verse 2]
Your hand is on my knee, but I see the Gem Theatre sign, flickering and red.
Hearing a northbound train horn echo off a bluff inside my head.
You ask me where I've gone, and your voice is so clear, so LA-canyon kind.
I'm on a flooded Commercial Avenue, leaving my own ghost behind.

[Chorus]
(He sings) This ain't just weather, it's a wire you tripped
(Backing Vocals) It's only rain now
(He sings) In the back of my skull, a rusted-out fuse box just flipped
(Backing Vocals) Let it wash away now

[Bridge]
"It's just water," you said, tracing a bead on the glass with your nail.
Baby, you don't understand the pressure drop before the hail.
You feel a cool front coming; I feel the history it brings.

[Outro]
The static on the dial, and the smell of wet, hot concrete things.
You say my name again. I turn the wipers on.