Intro Yeah Phone light glowin’ in a half-dark room Curtains cracked just enough for the city to bloom Funny how the dream look different when the crowd ain’t in it And them lights after midnight don’t feel the same, do they? Verse 1 Everybody know the name when the headline hit Everybody got a thought, got a tag, got a pic Everybody love the fire when the game-day loud But ain’t nobody in this room when the dark sink down Hotel ice in a paper cup, TV on mute Same damn buzz in my pocket, same empty little loop Planes, buses, practice, handshakes, noise A whole lotta motion for a hard young boy And I chased this shine, yeah, I wanted that rise Wanted all them big nights, wanted all them bright skies But nobody tell you how the glow gets thin When the crowd go home and you still can’t rest your head again I stare at ceilings like they owe me peace Like the silence got a truth it won’t fully release And every damn spotlight I once called home Start feelin’ like a cold-ass window when I’m here alone Pre-Chorus Yeah, the day feels golden But the night cuts clean What looked like love in public Ain’t always what it seemed I got all this shine around me Still can’t warm my skin That’s the thing ‘bout lights after midnight They let the lonely in Chorus Lights after midnight Hit a little colder When the cheers wear off And the room gets older Everybody want the image Everybody love the glow But them lights after midnight Don’t hold you like home Lights after midnight Still burn through the glass But they don’t say nothin’ Just throw your shadow back From Sin City dreams To this road I chose I learned them lights after midnight Ain’t the same as hope Verse 2 Ashley come to mind in them quiet little hours Like a porch-light memory with a different kind of power She remind me that soft don’t mean weak And real don’t gotta scream just to get underneath I think about Vegas too — how the city never slept How I thought if I ran hard enough I’d outrun what I kept But distance don’t kill nothin’ if it live in your chest It just makes you hear it clearer when the world finally rests And now I’m somewhere between a future and a ghost Between what I worked for and what I still need most Got Oklahoma in my blood, got a standard to uphold But some nights all that honor still feel lonely when it’s cold I ain’t ungrateful Nah, this ain’t that I know what it took just to get where I’m at I’m just sayin’ all this light got a shadow built in And a man learn his truth when the noise get thin Pre-Chorus Yeah, the day feels golden But the night cuts clean What looked like love in public Ain’t always what it seemed I got all this shine around me Still can’t warm my skin That’s the thing ‘bout lights after midnight They let the lonely in Chorus Lights after midnight Hit a little colder When the cheers wear off And the room gets older Everybody want the image Everybody love the glow But them lights after midnight Don’t hold you like home Lights after midnight Still burn through the glass But they don’t say nothin’ Just throw your shadow back From Sin City dreams To this road I chose I learned them lights after midnight Ain’t the same as hope Bridge So if I call God in the small hours I ain’t askin’ for fame I’m askin’ for peace For somethin’ real enough to stay When the likes go dead When the screens go black When it’s just me, this room And the weight of all that Give me one true voice One true hand One little piece of home In a life this grand ‘Cause a hard young heart can still get cold Even when it’s wrapped in gold Breakdown Yeah Phone still buzzin’ City still glows Dream still movin’ But the truth still shows No crowd No smoke No highlight reel Just me and them lights And how they really feel Final Chorus Lights after midnight Hit a little colder When the cheers wear off And the room gets older Everybody want the image Everybody love the glow But them lights after midnight Don’t hold you like home Lights after midnight Still burn through the glass But they don’t say nothin’ Just throw your shadow back From Sin City dreams To this road I chose I learned them lights after midnight Ain’t the same as hope Outro Yeah Some things look beautiful Till you sit with ‘em too long Some things shine bright But still leave you alone And I guess that’s part of growin’ Part of carryin’ the road Learnin’ lights after midnight Can’t love you like home
