[style desert noir alt-bluegrass rock, weathered baritone, restrained swagger dry drums, low electric guitar, banjo used sparingly for bite not bounce spoken-sung phrasing, conversational cadence, rough gang vocals in chorus] [opening] They say close only counts With horseshoes and hand grenades. But far as I can tell, Failure counts for a fair bit too. [verse 1] Most folk want the shortcut, The clean road, the polished stone, Ain't nobody worth speakin’ of Came out the gate that way. Nah. Every sharp edge honed on something, Each steady hand was shakin' once, Every bright soul at all worth listenin’ to Babbled foolish for a couple months. [pre-chorus] So I say— [chorus] Fail harder. Fail on your face, young'un Bust your pride an' knees an' patience, Then get back up an' start ta run. Whole world’s built by folks like that Just too stubborn to stay quite stuck. Failure ain’t fallin' from the peak— It’s the road that leads you up. --- [verse 2] An' any folk who can hold their own Had a couple fails first on that porcelain throne, Ain’t nobody born dignified, Just loud, upset, and tryin’ to thrive. You learn balance by leanin’ wrong, Learn timing by missin’ some cues, Learn truth by believin’ nonsense Till reality up an' throws shade at you. [turn] That’s life for ya. Bit rude sometimes...but it is what it is. --- [chorus] So fail harder. Break it loud enough to hear. If you ain’t ashamed ev'ry now and then, You prob'ly ain’t been near Anything worth learnin’, Anything worth fame or love, Or anything that asks a man To become a bit more than he was. --- [bridge – stripped down] Funny thing about failure— Most times it’s just a sign You actually attempted somethin’. Plenty of undefeated people Never did a dang thing tough enough To lose their title. It's hard to lose when you're set still But God Himself can't steer a parked car. --- [build] River carves canyon walls By keepin' on ten millennia straight. Tree roots crack foundations Just by not knowin’ when to quit. And people? People ain’t much different, I s'pose --- [final chorus – rough group harmonies] Fail harder. Go 'head an' fall flat down. Laugh about it when you can, Then get up off the ground. ‘Cause close might count for horseshoes, And grenades if story's true— But true mastery counts failures, And it’s keepin’ tabs on you. [outro] Fail on my face. Kept gettin’ up, though... Seemed to work out alright.
