[Pre-Chorus] Hands on the rail, heart kicking hard One more step and I’m past that yard Nobody’s coming for me this time I’ve got my old man’s voice in my head and my own blood on the line [Hook] I was down to my last ten bucks and a half-told plan Still showed up, still punched in, still did the best I can If you’ve ever had to make it with a little bit of sweat and nerve You know what it is to lose it all and still know what you’re worth [Verse] I learned early how a door can shut and leave you standing in the frame Kept walking that long road with a bad back and a name they couldn’t claim Got knocked flat more than once, but I got up before the morning’s heat Clocked in on fumes, put my hands to work and kept my head straight Every little thing I’ve got, I had to haul in one hard trip at a time No soft landing, no free ride, just a ladder, busted rung by rung, and I climbed [Chorus] Hands on the rail, I’m not turning back Head high, boots scuffed black If I’m scared, I don’t show it I keep moving, I keep going Hands on the rail, I know who I am No silver spoon, no safety net I came this far on what I could carry And I’m still standing when the whistle hits (Guitar solo) Showed up in a sun-faded shirt with coffee gone cold in the cup Signed my name on the dotted line and didn’t let the pen slip up It wasn’t gold, it wasn’t luck, just a door cracked open wide But I’d been ready for that minute, had my boots on and stepped inside [Bridge] Yeah, I wore the tired out, wore it like a second shirt Put in the hours, took the hits, did the work Now I look at these hands and I don’t see the strain I see what I made, and I know my own name No handout, no luck Just grit and luck enough And I’m standing here proud of the road it took to get here
