[Intro] Nineteen ninety-six… One doctor… One little bottle… And one man who thought he could fly… [Verse 1] Small-town clinic with fluorescent lights Back gave out on a cold work night Doctor looked down said “this’ll help you heal…” Didn’t know he made the devil a deal First two Percs made the whole world shine Bills got paid and he felt just fine Stress disappeared like smoke in the wind Felt ten feet tall underneath his skin Then his cousin rolled in from Ohio way Saw them pills sittin’ on a bathroom tray Said “Boy crush that shit… hit it this way…” One line later he’s high as hell this day Felt like Superman flyin’ through the sky Chest puffed out with a cocaine high Talked too fast with them bloodshot eyes Didn’t know kryptonite came in disguise [Pre-Chorus] Every high got shorter… every crash got long… He thought he was Superman… but Superman was gone… [Chorus] Superman Blues… flyin’ through the rain Whole damn life runnin’ through his veins Streetlights flicker while the cops roll slow Everybody falls right in same row Cape got torn… now the sky turned black Needle in his arm and the monkey on his back Lost his wife, lost his kids, lost control All from a bottle that swallowed his soul [Verse 2] Tolerance climbin’, now the scripts run dry Doctor cut him loose with a cold “nice try” Now he’s curled up sick, can’t eat, can’t sleep Cold sweat drippin’ while the walls all creep Started buyin’ extras from a dude downtown Then he sold a few just to keep ‘em around Soon the whole damn block knew his name They all lined up playin’ the opioid game Percs turned to Oxy… Oxy turned to dope Dope turned to needles when he ran outta hope Bathroom mirror with a razor and straw Every damn night breakin’ one more law She caught him noddin’ with his deadman eyes Track marks hidden under a long sleeve disguise He cried “Baby please… I’m losin’ my mind…” But addiction whispered back “one more time…” [Bridge] Phone still ringin’… debt still stackin’… Landlord bangin’ and the walls still crackin’… Mailbox red with overdue bills… Every damn sunrise he’s still doin pills… [Verse 3] Alcohol floodin’ every hour awake Mixed with boy now the soul gon’ break Hospital bed with the tremors and shakes Doctors whisperin’ “for goodness sake’s…” Bathroom stall with a needle in hand Starin’ at death like “fuck it all then…” Didn’t feel joy… didn’t feel well… Only felt alive with poison from hell Then one night in that mirrors glass Saw Superman’ lookin’ back at his ass Cape all burned and the eyes sunk deep Ghost of a man that a mom wouldn’t keep Dropped to his knees said “God help me please…” First real prayer in years with this disease [Final Chorus] Superman Blues… now he fightin’ back Six years sober but the scars still crack Still hear demons when the night gets cold Still see ghosts from the pills he sold But the phone don’t ring like it did before No more runnin’ from that knock at the door From backroad hell to survivin’ the flames Still standin’ tall while rememberin’ names [Outro] He thought those pills made him Superman strong… Now he found out he was very very wrong… Sometimes the strongest thing a man can do… Is finally start runnin’… On a path that is true…
