[Verse 1]
Johnny works in a factory
And Billy works downtown
Terry works in a rock and roll band
Looking for that million-dollar sound
And I got a little job down in Darlington
But some nights I don't go
Some nights I go to the drive-in
Or some nights I stay home

[Bridge]
I followed that dream
Just like those guys do up on the screen
And I drove a Challenger down Route 9
Through the dead ends and all the bad scenes
And when the promise was broken
I cashed in a few of my dreams

[Verse 2]
Well now, I built that Challenger by myself
But I needed money and so I sold it
I lived a secret I shoulda kept to myself
But I got drunk one night and I told it
All my life I fought this fight
The fight that no man can ever win
Every day it just gets harder to live
This dream I'm believing in
[Chorus]
Thunder Road
Oh baby, you were so right
Thunder Road
There's something dying down on the highway tonight

[Verse 3]
I won big once and I hit the coast
Oh, but somehow I paid the big cost
Inside I felt like I was carrying the broken spirits
Of all the other ones who lost
When the promise is broken you go on living
But it steals something from down in your soul
Like when the truth is spoken and it don't make no difference
Something in your heart turns cold

[Chorus]
Thunder Road
For the lost lovers and all the fixed games
Thunder Road
For the tires rushing by in the rain
Thunder Road
Remember what me and Billy we'd always say
Thunder Road
We were gonna take it all and throw it all away