The Dark Roads Ahead

Lyrics

[Verse 1] Countless hours on the roads of Ukraine, Headlights cutting through the cold and rain, Kyiv in the mirror, Kharkiv up ahead, Dnipro calling through the static in my head. The vehicle rattles like it’s had enough, Every warning light says, boy, this road is rough, Twenty-eight hours squeezed into twenty-four, I’m running on fumes but still asking for more. [Chorus] No sleep, no sleep, just the road and the sky, Gerans drones circling like black birds fly. Flashes on the horizon—but no storm in sight, They’re invitations to death dressed up as light. Then darkness pulls up a chair beside me, Whispers, “Come on, friend, I can make a deal.” I keep my hands tight around that steering wheel, ’Cause sometimes driving through darkness is the only thing that’s real. [Verse 2] Ten hours on a train rolling straight through the night, Black windows reflecting a pale cabin light, Somewhere beyond there, the darkness hangs low, And nobody knows exactly where it’ll go. Geran drones hum somewhere above, Glide bombs overhead with a thunderous shove, And rumors run faster than wheels on the track— Oreshnik in the headlines, another night turns black. [Chorus] No sleep, no sleep, just the road and the sky, Buildings start shaking and you wonder why. The walls start trembling, the windows complain, And everybody waits for the noise to explain. Flashes on the horizon—but no storm in sight, Just another reminder that the darkness has no light. So we sit in the hallway, trying not to breathe, While the whole damn building rocks underneath. [Verse 3] Odesa at midnight, still wide awake, Missiles crossing the sea from Crimea’s wake. No sleep in Odesa, no rest in the room, Just listening to nearby thunder roll and boom. Then Mark Hamill’s voice cuts through the air: “Attention, air raid alert, proceed to the nearest shelter.” Funny how calm those words can sound When the whole fucking world around is burning down. [Verse 4] WOG Dog in my hand just to settle my nerves, A little roadside comfort while the whole world burns. Vehicles falling apart, piece by piece, But somehow the damn thing still refuses to cease. Then Kyiv wakes beneath a curtain of smoke, Clouds spreading wide like the sky has been broke. I close my eyes for a second, drift into a dream— Wake up behind the wheel to a nightmare scene. [Bridge] I dreamed I was home, heard the old screen door slam, Then woke to a siren and the shake of the van. The road keeps rolling, the night keeps talking, Every mile marker knows where I’ve been walking. Kyiv, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Odesa— Names on a map, but they feel like scars. And somewhere above them, behind all the stars, The darkness is waiting beside the parked cars. [Final Chorus] No sleep, no sleep, we keep driving on, Through another black night waiting for dawn. Gerans drones in the sky, distant thunder below, Glide bombs overhead and nowhere to go. Oreshnik whispered like a name in the dark, While distant flashes stain the horizon with sparks. But I’m still here breathing, still gripping the wheel, Still telling the darkness, “You don’t get the deal.” [Outro] So darkness pulls up a chair, Leans close like an old friend there, Says, “I can make this easier, son.” I laugh through the exhaustion: “Hell no. I’m not done.” Kyiv behind me. Kharkiv ahead. Dnipro below. Odesa in my head. Twenty-eight hours in a twenty-four-hour day, No sleep, no silence, no easy way. But morning keeps coming, whether we believe— And darkness can whisper all it wants. We’re still here.