Sun Kil Moon - Welcome to Sparks lyrics

Roadtrip to Sparks, Nevada
I walked into the bus station
There was a payphone in there
It didn't work, but it was nice to look at
Enclosed in vintage ash, nostalgia, nostalgia
Payphones saved my ass so many
Times when I was young
Saved me from getting mugged over at
The corner of Turk and something
Rain was pouring and guys were closing in
On me and my new year’s flame
I told her, "make a call fast, I
Got your back", and within a minute
Up pulled a taxi

Well, the funny payphone memories from when
I was younger and dumber
I once called my dad from a roadside payphone
In Tennesee when I'd fallen in love
I told him, "Dad
I've fallen in love and I’m getting married"


He humored me and said
"How long have you known her?"
I said, "A month" he was chuckling
He said, "Well Mark
Let me know when you've planned your wedding"
A few weeks later I wasn't
With that girl no more
I could hear it in my dad's voice on
That payphone, that I was a smitten
Pussy-whipped kid
I didn't know it then, but my dad did
Because he was my dad, old and wise
And he knew me better than anyone else did
From there, a short trip to Reno, Nevada
The bus station was closed but I was so
Happy to see people of color gathering
They were sitting on benches outside the
Bus station in downtown Reno
The sun was glaring on the cement
Contrasting with the fall of Sierra snow
Cat mountains

I saw three payphones inside but the
Cops wouldn't let me in
I said, "Can I please
Use the payphone and get a sip
Of water from the water fountain?"
They said, "Hey you, move along"
And when I left I saw
A nervous young man crying
A lost soul with nowhere to go
He'd just been dropped off at the bus station
People were advising him
Telling him about small welcoming
Towns and making suggestions
The cops said, "Everybody beat it everybody
Get lost now move along"

As I walked back, I said, "Hey my friend
Look down, there's some cash
Grab it quickly", and that he did
Who knows what happened to him
Maybe he found work on a
Privately owned exotic animal zoo
Maybe he hitchhiked his way from
Reno, Nevada to Kalamazoo, michigan
Maybe he’s traveling from bus
Station to bus station maybe he’s fine
I heard a woman telling him
That she'd pray for him

And from there we drove to the Truckee River
People were picnicking
Happy as can be on that April afternoon
I climbed half-way up an overhanging
Tree where I stood and took a picture of
The slow-flowing Truckee river
And from downtown Truckee
We drove through Donner Pass
Where people ate each other up
And further down the 8 to Emigrant Gap
When we pulled in
There was a long cabin-like structure
She parked while I stepped outside and took a
Peek and saw people watching a strange film
The portion I saw was a
Close-up of a woman’s skin

A kind man stepped outside and said
"How can I help you, sir?"
I said
"We saw a sign for a payphone at the exit"
He said
"That payphone's been gone a long time"
I said, "What's going on in there?" he said
"We're showing a film because
Of our absent lecturer" i said
"Is he absent because of certain guidelines?"
And he said, "yeah, we’re
Showing a film instead
Maybe drop by another time"
I said, "What is this place anyhow?"
He said, "It's a rehabilitation center
A 13-month program
Ranging from people with drug
And alcohol problems and also for
People suffering with depression"

I said, "Now, that part interests me
Now you've got my attention"
He told me the website when I left
He said: "God bless you
And safe travels man!"
I said, "What did you just say?"
He said, "yeah, that's right
We're a Christian based program for
18 years old and over"
I said, "That's a very large age span"
He said, "Well, 18 is adult"
I said, "I see, just like prisons
When you're 18 you share the
Same structure as senior citizens"
And I said, well, who knows, one day
He could have counted me in
"I'm intrigued by the part about depression
But, I'm not interested in the
Part about your religion
Plus, it's too close to where
The Donner Party happened
Plus, this place kind of reminds
Me of The Shining"
He said, "Well, nevermind you, I
Didn't come to you
You came to me, you knocked on my door
I didn't knock on yours"
And I got in the car and I asked Caroline
"Does
This place strike you as the kind of place
With 13 months of time you'll be healing
Or does it strike you as sort of cult-y
In that kind of time when the snowbound
Place could mess with your mind?"

And from there we ended up
In Colfax and ordered pizza
And we were mesmerized by a
Young lady twirling pizza dough
And two lovebirds behind the counter
Were giggling and flirting
While working away on their many
Pizza orders to go
Young love is so beautiful and
Painful and mysterious, wondering
Where will it go?
Will she go off to college and
Meet somebody new and break his
Heart while he's back in Colfax
Sprinkling cheese on pizza dough?
Will they have five children and live
Happily ever after in Colfax, who knows?
Will they leave town in an old Honda Civic
And get married somewhere along the Pacific
And live in a house in Mendocino with
A yard full of abalone shells?
And get divorced
And she's chasing him down for
Child support and alimony

Well, young love is so beautiful
And painful and mysterious
Where will it go? Young love is so beautiful
And painful and mysterious
Where will it go? Young love is so beautiful
And painful and mysterious
Where will it go?

I said, "Thank you, Caroline
For this road trip to Sparks and Reno
It was nice to go to the American
And Truckee rivers and skip stones
And see old payphones
And to drive along 6-foot
High mounds of snow"