[Dobro, harmonica, country blues, medium tempo] [Verse 1] Mama raised me on a patch of dirt and splinters, Daddy taught me how to fix a fence at five. Barbed wire bit my hands every damn winter, Taught me early what it costs just to survive. Ain’t no sunshine in a life built crooked, Ain’t no mercy in a hard man’s truth. Every scar on these hands got a story, Every story sings the barbed wire blues. [Chorus] Yeah, I got the barbed wire blues, cut deep and true, A heart full of rust and an old worn-out view. Life’s been a fence line that keeps tearing through, And whiskey’s the only friend I ever knew. Yeah, I’m bleedin’ my way down these battered old boots, Singin’ them cold, steel barbed wire blues. [Verse 2] Grew up broke, mean, and stubborn as a mule, Dreams got tangled like a fence in a storm. Every time I tried to climb outta this world, Life’s sharp edges left another mark on my arm. Got a lover once—she left me out of pity, Said I was too wild, too rough to soothe. Funny thing is, she ain't wrong about nothin’— Hell, I’m married to these barbed wire blues. [long dobro solo] [Chorus] Yeah, I got the barbed wire blues, cut deep and true, A heart full of rust and an old worn-out view. Life’s been a fence line that keeps tearing through, And whiskey’s the only friend I ever knew. Yeah, I’m bleedin’ my way down these battered old boots, Singin’ them cold, steel barbed wire blues. [Bridge] One day that wire’s gonna snap and take me with it, Lay me down in the dust with the things I’ve lost. But until then I’ll drink, patch, and live it— Every mile of this life’s been paid in blood cost. [Chorus] Yeah, I got the barbed wire blues, cut deep and true, A heart full of rust and an old worn-out view. Life’s been a fence line that keeps tearing through, And whiskey’s the only friend I ever knew. Yeah, I’m bleedin’ my way down these battered old boots, Singin’ them hard, low, barbed wire blues.
