Awareness

[Intro | dominant electric lap steel | raw bottleneck slide | closed hi-hat | sparse room tone] [Instrumental | long descending slide | one dry harmonica breath | late snare entrance] [Verse 1 | very deep Southern blues baritone | low spoken-sung delivery | behind the beat | sparse slide replies] Blue light resting heavy on a tired face One hard fact comes up, then slides away The thumb moves on before the hurt can speak That same old pull still holds its place A safer story comes to save the day And truth gets buried underneath [Pre-Chorus | tightening vocal pressure | minimal snare] I know you feel that tug along your spine Still you lean the way they pull Lord, I do not know what makes that feel all right [Chorus | hard direct accusation | chest-heavy baritone | dominant slide answers | cracked harmonica] Every truth you brush away lets them decide what stays in sight Every fact you will not face puts more of you inside their hands Maybe that old pull feels kinder than the trouble of standing right Maybe comfort means more to you than knowing where you stand [Verse 2 | mournful baritone | clipped phrasing | sparse harmonica | low slide moans] A neighbor’s grief comes through in plain black type The first few lines cut close to bone Then one wrong name makes all the meaning fade The page goes dark beneath the swipe That living pain gets left alone While borrowed words come back and stay [Pre-Chorus | darker vocal pressure | late snare] You know that voice was not your own Still you wear it like Sunday clothes I cannot tell what keeps you holding on [Chorus | harder accusation | dragged vowels | metallic slide replies | dry room sound] Every truth you brush away lets them decide what stays in sight Every fact you will not face puts more of you inside their hands You let their words come walking in and turn your brother into night Then bless the chain that keeps you still and call it where you stand [Instrumental | slow wounded lap steel solo | harmonica exhale] [Verse 3 | bitter restraint | close baritone | dominant lap steel | minimal percussion] Two names come polished, ready for the fight Each one owing debts you never see The colors change, the bargain holds its ground You shout your side into the night They take the measure of your loyalty And move the line without a sound [Pre-Chorus | near-despair | exposed vocal] I call you kin though hope runs thin Still you bend when they draw tight And I am starting to think you like that string [Chorus | grave accusation | heavy chest resonance | raw slide cries | no harmony] Every truth you brush away lets them decide what stays in sight Every fact you will not face puts more of you inside their hands I’m starting to think that pull feels better than the cost of standing right And they keep hold of every piece of ground you will not stand [Bridge | stripped arrangement | intimate baritone | low lap steel drone | minimal hi-hat] Brother, I will not sweeten what I see Sister, I will not praise the leash This song is all I have to lay before you No speechman’s grin, no easy peace I keep on singing though your face turns cold And every line falls short of reach [Outro | descending electric slide | distant harmonica | fade out] The blue light stays upon your face That same old pull runs through I keep on singing past the last note Not knowing if it reaches you