[Spoken] I told myself I’d just drive. Take I-40 all the way out to the coast and just keep my mouth shut. I said, “I’m gonna watch my step this time. I’m gonna bite my tongue until it bleeds.” I put a lock on my jaw. Even when the worst of it was sitting right there in the passenger seat. I was completely silent. I wouldn't even say anything good. But the silence didn’t fix it. It just let the heat build up. That thick, suffocating Piedmont humidity settling right in my chest. My heart was practically burning a hole through my ribs, Just sitting there, quiet, completely alone in my own head. [Instrumental] [Distortion kicks in. Heavy, emotional, angular chords] [Shouted] And the sorrow just kept churning! My core, my chest, still hot inside! I was musing on the highway and the fire just caught! And by your grace, my voice finally broke wide [Silent Interlude] God, just show me the end of the road. Tell me what you have in store for me. Let me see the expiration date. Because I’m measuring my days in mile markers, And I need to see how fragile my bones really are. Yeah, my years are literally nothing to you! You gave me a life that’s as short as the span of my hand. At our absolute best, we are just a vapor over the fields. Every single one of us. [Screamed/Belting] We’re just walking around like ghosts in clothes! All our stressing out, all our panic attacks it's for nothing! We kill ourselves for a paycheck, just putting on a show, And we won't even be the ones to clean out our mortgaged place when we go! [Change up] So what am I even waiting for? Out here looking at the pines, hoping something changes? My hope isn’t in anyone I’ve met in this town. My hope is in nothing but you. Father. So pull me out of this mess I made. Don’t let me be a joke to the kids hanging out on Franklin Street. I was speechless. I didn't defend myself. But you pried my mouth open, and now I just want to breathe. [Anguished] I am being crushed by your hand! When you discipline us, when you strip away our pride, You strike me, and I’m begging you to pull the punch! Everything beautiful we have just rots away. It’s all temporary! It’s all ephemera! [Call and reply] I’m just a tourist here! / A drifter sleeping in the backseat, Just like my dad was, and his dad before him! Please, just listen to me cry / don't stay quiet Don't be quiet while I'm crying! / Pull the punch Say you’ll spare me. Just let me get my strength back. Just let me catch my breath... Before I fade! Before I fade out and slip into the night! Say you’ll spare me! Let me recover my might! Before the headlights die! Before I fade out and slip into the night! [Feedback swells and slowly fades into the sound of crickets] (Before I slip into the night...) (Before I fade...) [End]
