Lyrics

LIGHTNING (Skibbe)
©2019, Coyote Tongue Music (ASCAP)

Her name was Catherine,
She came from Topeka
She was a waitress
And a magical creature
She had a smile
Made the floor move beneath you
The kind of smile that makes a man
Want to make her smile again

Let’s call him Charlie
He came from the Interstate
He was a traveler
Looking for a beer and a steak
He had a deeper hunger
Etched in his face
The kind you just don’t understand,
Until you’ve been that man

Nobody knows when the lightning will strike
Where the wind’s gonna blow
How the moon is gonna shine (shine)

She held the baby in the arms of a prayer
He held the distance in his shell-shocked stare
It was the last time all three of them were there
With Charlie long gone Cathy just quit holding on

Nobody knows when the lightning will strike
Where the wind’s gonna blow
How the moon is gonna shine
But it lights up their eyes
And it glows on their skin
Some of them lose
But some of them win
When the lightning strikes

It is a worn and wrinkled photograph
With faded writing on the back
A time-stained artifact
Three lives frozen in one flash

Her name was Catherine
She came from Topeka
She was my mama
And a magical creature
She had a smile made the floor move beneath you

Nobody knows when the lightning will strike
Where the wind’s gonna blow
How the moon is gonna shine
But it lights up their eyes
And it glows on their skin
Some of them lose
But some of them win
When the lightning strikes