Tight Line High Wire

Title: Tight Line High Wire [Intro — beat-first / aluminum rhythm] [Aluminum ladder clank, spline roller texture, boots on hollow beam, deep 808 groove building, no spoken intro] [Chant Intro] Tight line high wire Two-inch beam whole soul higher Spline roll frame shine Keep your balance keep your line [Beat drops] [Verse 1] I been on aluminum since I was wet behind the ears Young hands learning fast how to work above fear Two-inch beam with a long way down Screen on both sides and no soft ground Walkboard flexing on a ladder run Twelve feet up then another one Roof in my hands while the wind talks slick One wrong lean and the day turns quick So I learned real early don’t move like noise You place your weight like a grown man’s choice You keep your eyes where the next step lives You don’t take more than the beam can give That trade taught me what life couldn’t say Loose hands lose more than a couple hours pay When the whole cage shakes and the cut gets hard Keep a tight line when the ground gets far [Pre-Chorus] Channel clean corners true Frame don’t lie when it speaks to you Less than an eighth and still too wide Measure your nerve before your pride [Chorus] Keep a tight line when the ground gets far Walk that narrow like you know who you are Aluminum singing with the bass in the bar Keep a tight line when the ground gets far Spline in the groove hands on the frame Can’t fake balance can’t borrow aim High up working where the weak talk stops Tight line living from the beam to the top [Post-Chorus — chant] Roll that spline pull that screen Cut that edge clean clean clean Frame that life square that heart Keep a tight line when the ground gets far [Verse 2] I seen men freeze when the roof line opened Look down once and the whole mind broken I seen calm hands make a hard thing simple Set a roof by hand from the top of a ladder That ain’t reckless that’s trained respect That’s knowing every inch might collect your debt That’s reading the frame like a book with teeth That’s finding your breath where the air gets thin A screen cage rises one true line at a time Every panel stretched every corner aligned If the cut runs crooked the whole thing shows If the heart goes crooked the same truth knows So I don’t build sloppy and I don’t live loose I don’t leave bad work with a good excuse Let the 808 hit while the saw sparks fly Tight line low end with my boots up high [Pre-Chorus] Channel clean corners true Frame don’t lie when it speaks to you Less than an eighth and still too wide Measure your nerve before your pride [Chorus] Keep a tight line when the ground gets far Walk that narrow like you know who you are Aluminum singing with the bass in the bar Keep a tight line when the ground gets far Spline in the groove hands on the frame Can’t fake balance can’t borrow aim High up working where the weak talk stops Tight line living from the beam to the top [Bridge — heavy bounce / beam chant] Walkboard up ladder lean Roof pan high screen pulled clean Two-inch path forty-foot view Ain’t much room between lie and truth Plumb that post square that name Cut that gap with a steady flame No cheap work no crooked art Tight line living with a level heart [Breakdown — low 808 / half-sung] The beam don’t care what story you tell The frame will show where your hands weren’t held The cut will confess what the mouth won’t start So keep your line clean when it comes from the heart [Final Chorus — bigger / full body groove] Keep a tight line when the ground gets far Walk that narrow like you know who you are Aluminum singing with the bass in the bar Keep a tight line when the ground gets far Spline in the groove hands on the frame Can’t fake balance can’t borrow aim High up working where the weak talk stops Tight line living from the beam to the top [Outro — chant fades / aluminum clank] Tight line high wire Two-inch beam whole soul higher Spline roll frame shine Keep your balance keep your line