Lyrics

off a highway out of town
you were waving around
a surprise underneath the register
you just found

was it mercy, was it fear
the way you handled the cashier
who do you see now
when you look inside the mirror

oh oh oh, oh, oh
oh oh oh, oh, oh

the lights inside the store
the jingling of the door
oh the flash and the rattle
of a heart torn apart by war

bad dreams in Illinois
of being beaten as a boy
down in St. Clair County
they use a rag to cover up the noise

as far as you can tell
you were never young you were never well
you send a prayer from Belleville
if he can’t help who the hell will

eggs cold on your plate
100 miles of interstate
you know you can’t outrun
the mistakes you were born to make

now you have become the kind of man
you cannot free nor understand
you chase your devils at night
with Old Crow and Ativan

oh oh oh, oh, oh
oh oh oh, oh, oh

you pulled the car up off the road
neon gas station lights glowed
You saw a clean-cut kid
at the cashier window

you swung the door and entered fast
cold cocked the boy and went for the cash
you lit the whole place up in
storm of hell fire and shattered glass

and as far as you can tell
you’re never growing old, it’s probably just as well
you send a prayer from Belleville
if he can’t help who the hell will

oh, you were out there on your own
oh and nothing could ever bring you home

your wicked heart it races
broken at its weakest places
and like a highway at night
it’s all white lines and empty spaces

but there’s a light out on the horizon
and from the darkness of your car
you know it’s too late to keep disguising
the kind of man you really are

and as far as you can tell
it was never easy, you had to fight like hell
you send a prayer from Belleville

if he can’t help who the hell will
if he can’t help who the hell will