Track 02 · Everywhere Isn't Texas
Album track
A driver's license becomes a quiet declaration of independence. Freedom arrives not as rebellion, but as the simple knowledge that the road can turn in more than one direction.
Written and produced by Tulio Costa · Performed by Calla Hayes
02Official lyrics
© 2026 Tulio Costa. All rights reserved.
The test was a formality, I'd already memorized the lines The painted ones on asphalt, and the ones between the signs Instructor tapped the phantom brake, his clipboard on his knee I kept my hands at ten-and-two and pretended not to see He said, "Merge when safe, check your blind spot twice" I'd been rehearsing this moment since I first learned how to bite My tongue, hold my nerve, and wait for the green light
The seatbelt clicked a little looser than I thought And the engine hummed a note I'd never caught The rearview held my childhood, shrinking in the glass I pressed the gas and let it pass
That summer I learned to drive Was the summer I learned to leave Not from anger, not from pain Just the simple act of breathing between The white lines blurring into one The radio scanning for a sun That never quite set on the wheel in my hands I learned the road understands What the driveway never could— How to let go and still feel good
I took the long way past the water tower's rust A route that had no purpose, just a kind of quiet trust The windows down created that weird, pulsing pop With every seam in the highway, my heart would stop and start I watched the telephone poles click by like a slow applause For every mile I put between myself and all my flaws The tape deck ate a cassette, but I didn't even pause
The sun bled orange through the bug-splattered shield I felt the weight of the world begin to yield To a simple truth I couldn't yet define— The road was mine, all mine
That summer I learned to drive Was the summer I learned to leave Not from anger, not from pain Just the simple act of breathing between The white lines blurring into one The radio scanning for a sun That never quite set on the wheel in my hands I learned the road understands What the driveway never could— How to let go and still feel good
Now I'm older and the speed's a little slower But I still catch myself gripping the wheel like a believer That first taste of freedom wasn't loud, it was a whisper Saying, "You can always turn around, But darling, you don't have to" And that's the part I carry with me now— The choice to keep on moving anyhow
That summer I learned to drive... (Mmm, I learned to leave) The white lines, the radio... (Just breathe between) Yeah, that summer I learned... (To let go and feel good) I learned to drive... (I learned to drive...)