Nada

This is a really well written (and well performed) song that captures a feeling of expectant emptiness through three visual narratives.

First, there's "the storm down in Mexico" that is approaching. Initially he hears the thunder, then sees the lightning and feels the wind. Finally, he feels the raindrops as the storm arrives.

Second, there's the metaphor of the truck. He initially notices that "the speedometer doesn't work," but the truck works well enough to "leave the boarder far behind." He fuels up and keeps going, but eventually the truck runs out of gas. Is that when he started walking through the desert?

The third motif is the walk in the desert. This one actually seems to be running in reverse. Starting out on a walk through the desert, one would notice lizards and rattlesnakes. You'd probably be less apt to notice little natural wonders after forgetting your shoes, getting caked with dust and disappearing into the tumbleweeds, especially if you've been sipping tequila the whole time.

So what does it all mean? Nada, apparently. There ain't no moral to these stories at all, and in fact they're all lies. (Also note that if anyone actually found themselves shoeless and wasted in the middle of a desert thunderstorm after abandoning the sketchy vehicle that they apparently drunk-drove all the way from Mexico, their chance of survival would be pretty limited.)

Be that as it may, the imagery, the desperation in Roger's voice, the plodding pace of the song, and Brian's lonely guitar hooks all work together to to create a feeling of earnest longing for something (in the soul, it seems) that just HAS TO exist out there somewhere but has yet to "come alive."

Detractors might point out that just about every other Gen X white guy musician working in the early '90s covered the same territory, but even if the Refreshments didn't break any new thematic ground with this song, they still did it beautifully.

Anyone who has ever been lost, or have no real desination (in either the physical, or psycological world), yet still manage to continue on can relate to this song.

FANTASTIC song! the struggles of a feldgling rockstars life portaryed on backdrop of the arizonan desert. All the best music comes from Arizona or Canada I'm almost damn enar convinced of it with this album.

This song is about withdrawing from society into isolation

Greatest song ever. Theres guys are amazing

the harmonica in the start is absolutley amazing. great song about having not a thing to do and all the time to do it. and not to worry a damn thing about it.

I love the line "I'm just waiting for that cold black soul of mine to come alive " Not sure why, but sometimes I feel that way too.

I always saw the storm as something big coming at the narrator, or life in general even, and the narrator driving into it, then walking into it, giving up his vehicle, shoes on the other side of the river, and taking nothing but his bottle of tequila and lime and saying "fuck it, lets go!" and walking into the storm to see if it makes him feel more alive.

One of the best songs ever. For me it was about the headlong rush toward destruction. When you feel empty you take any crutch you can (in this case tequila) and use that to go toward anything to wake yourself up. The storm down in Mexico. Pure power and force that will either cleanse you or drown you. I feel like for whoever this song is about it would not matter which.
You drive as long as you can, just trying to get closer, even as your support network starts breaking down. The speedometer is losing track of just how far down the rabbit hole you have gone. Besides, the journey doesn't matter, just the ending. Feeling the raindrops just egg you on. When the truck stops, the network breaks, then it is time to continue on. Part of that is crossing the point of no return. You can't come back from the desert, you had to drive to long to get there. So is it possible to walk until you feel the energy needed to wake up?