Song Description

Driving to the ocean on a desert highway
Not a word was spoken of what went on the last day
Caught between the beauty and the desolation
Travelling on a fast train through the desecration

Grandpa was a soldier sent to work the asphalt
Back in 1942 he never fired a single shot
Left my mama’s family for three years on the prairie
Came home on a different road than the one he left on wearily

Old soldiers telling tales of a war that never came
Old friends they never die, they only stay away
They only stay away
From the Via Dolorosa

Stuck out on the high plain in an unforgiving season
Your wagon was just pulling in as everyone was leavin’
Waiting on the Promised Land, fighting through the hardest time
If they only came a different day they might have lived to see the sun shine

Old men telling tales of a land forever lost
Young men they never pay, they never count the cost
They never see the loss
On the Via Dolorosa

Promises are broken on a rocky shoreline
Dreams that go unfinished wait another lifetime
Caught between the beauty and the desperation
Fly out on the last plane to the final destination

Young lovers always die in the final frame
On the desert highway that knows no other name
That knows no other name
But the Via Dolorosa

Written by Rob Bennett © 2003 Burning Canoe Music/SOCAN/ASCAP

Rob Bennett: Vocal and guitar
Tom Gillon: Guitar
Jeff Monette: Bass
Kevin Smith: Drums

Song Style