ONE BEAT SHORT OF FINE Baylox [Intro — muted banjo picking in 7/8, dry kick drum, faint pedal steel. No vocal pickup.] [Verse 1 — 7/8, conversational country vocal, deliberately uneven phrasing] The clock on the wall keeps terrible time Or maybe it’s me getting left behind Everybody’s moving like they know the steps I’m counting the spaces where your feet left There’s a band downtown playing something sweet And a girl who keeps trying to dance with me I can follow her hands, I can follow the lights But I keep turning left when the whole room turns right [Pre-Chorus — alternating 7/8 and 4/4, tension rising] One, two, three, four Five, six, seven I used to know what came next Back when I thought love was heaven [Chorus — sudden 4/4, infectious syncopated bass, wide pedal steel, layered harmonies] I’m one beat short of fine One step out of time Everybody’s got a rhythm I keep losing mine I’m all right, all right That’s the lie I tell tonight Got a heart that keeps on beating But it never lands on time Oh, I’m fine, fine, fine One beat short of fine [Verse 2 — return to 7/8, bass plays against the banjo] Your sister got married the middle of May I heard they played our song, I stayed away Not because I hated seeing somebody win I just couldn’t hear that melody again I took the long road past the county line Where the radio faded and the stars came alive I sat with the silence till a quarter past three And learned how loud an empty seat can be [Pre-Chorus — half-time, brushed snare, unstable pulse] One, two, three, four Five, six, seven I can count every mile But I can’t count on forgetting [Chorus — 4/4, fuller drums, hook with countermelody] I’m one beat short of fine One step out of time Everybody’s got a rhythm I keep losing mine I’m all right, all right That’s the lie I tell tonight Got a heart that keeps on beating But it never lands on time Oh, I’m fine, fine, fine One beat short of fine [Bridge — 5/4, instruments drop to bass, heartbeat kick and distant steel] Maybe healing ain’t a straight four-count Maybe some things never even out Maybe I can learn another way to move Without pretending I don’t miss you [Instrumental break — 7/8 banjo and steel trade phrases; drums abruptly switch to 4/4] [Final Chorus — 4/4, restrained rather than triumphant, intimate lead vocal] I’m one beat short of fine But I’m still keeping time Everybody’s got a rhythm Maybe I’ll find mine I’m all right, all right Not completely, not tonight Got a heart that keeps on beating Even when it falls behind Oh, I’m fine, fine, fine One beat short of fine [Outro — 7/8 returns, instruments drop away one by one] One, two, three, four Five, six, seven… [One missing beat of silence] [Final pedal steel note, unresolved]
