Track 1 of the single The Night Bus Takes the Long Way Round · 2025
The Night Bus Takes the Long Way Round
“An empty upper deck with streetlamps sliding like lanterns on a slow canal. I wrote it from the front seat and I wasn't in a hurry.”
indie folk · night-bus folk · dreamy indie folk · 3:51
Lyrics
The upper deck is empty but for me and a sleeping man Streetlamps slide like lanterns on a slow canal The driver hums a tune that I almost know And the city turns its pages as we go A woman in a nurse's coat is counting out her fare A boy with paper bags is wearing his sister's scarf The windows steam with breathing, I draw a little star Everybody's going home, however far Oh, the night bus takes the long way round Past the shuttered bakery, past the sleeping town Nobody's in a hurry when the lights are low Just a warm seat and a window and a road to go The night bus takes the long way round And I'm glad for every mile that brings me home We cross the river slowly, the water holds the moon The bell rings for a stop and nobody gets on I think of all the doorways with a lamp left on for someone And I'm almost there, and I'm almost home Oh, the night bus takes the long way round Past the shuttered bakery, past the sleeping town Nobody's in a hurry when the lights are low Just a warm seat and a window and a road to go The night bus takes the long way round And I'm glad for every mile that brings me home Somebody's folding laundry, somebody's reading late Somebody's waiting up and won't say they were waiting And here we are in between, soft and unobserved Carried by a stranger who is kind enough to drive Oh, the night bus takes the long way round Past the shuttered bakery, past the sleeping town Nobody's in a hurry when the lights are low Just a warm seat and a window and a road to go The night bus takes the long way round And I'm glad for every mile that brings me home My stop is coming, I fold my coat The doors sigh open to the cool night air Goodnight, driver, goodnight, glass The long way round was worth it