Callus Gospel

Title: Callus Gospel [Intro — hand rhythm / beat-first] [Hands clap dust off jeans, hammer handle grip, deep 808 groove building, no spoken intro] [Hook Fragment] My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached Every line in my palm got a lesson to teach My hands got a gospel rough skin speaks Work wrote a story where the world can see [Beat drops] [Verse 1] Look at these palms they ain’t soft for show They got maps in the skin from the roads I know Knuckles got miles fingernails got dirt Grip got memory from the years that hurt I don’t need to explain every place I been You can read half my life where the callus sits in Hammer handle smooth from a thousand days Same spot worn down in a thousand ways There’s a sermon in the palm but it don’t sound sweet It sounds like boots and a jobsite beat Sounds like lifting when the mood got low Sounds like showing up when the mind said no I ain’t preaching from a stage I ain’t selling no speech My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached Let the bass line knock let the whole crew reach Rough hands talking what the soul can teach [Pre-Chorus] Grip that handle feel that truth Work lines deep from a life in use No clean story no polished speech Hands got a gospel my mouth never preached [Chorus] My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached Every line in my palm got a lesson to teach Callus on the grip dirt under the nail Proof in the skin that a man prevailed My hands got a gospel rough skin speaks Every hard day left a rhythm in me I don’t need fancy I don’t need sleek My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached [Post-Chorus — chant] Palm line work line Grip strong worth mine Rough hand truth reach Gospel I never preached Palm line work line Old pain new spine Hands talk let em speak Gospel I never preached [Verse 2] I know men with stories buried in their grip Blisters turned leather from a lifetime shift They won’t say much when the room gets deep But their hands tell the truth that their mouths still keep They held up families they fixed what broke They turned bad mornings into sawdust smoke They shook other hands with respect and weight Then went back to work with a full-grown ache That’s a kind of scripture you don’t hang on a wall That’s a lived-in wisdom that can’t be bought That’s a blue-collar hymn with an 808 underneath Not church in the front just truth through the beat So let this one play when the crew gets tired Let the rhythm put language where the heart got wired For every man who learned without needing to teach Your hands got a gospel your mouth never preached [Pre-Chorus] Grip that handle feel that truth Work lines deep from a life in use No clean story no polished speech Hands got a gospel my mouth never preached [Chorus] My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached Every line in my palm got a lesson to teach Callus on the grip dirt under the nail Proof in the skin that a man prevailed My hands got a gospel rough skin speaks Every hard day left a rhythm in me I don’t need fancy I don’t need sleek My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached [Bridge — stomp / handclap groove] Clap dust off the denim Grip truth while you’re in it Knuckle mark palm groove Hard work whole truth Blister came leather stayed Old hurt found a way No pulpit no seat Hands got what words can’t reach [Breakdown — low groove] The hand remembers What the mouth lets slide The grip remembers What a man survived The skin keeps record The lines run deep That’s callus gospel The quiet kind speaks [Final Chorus] My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached Every line in my palm got a lesson to teach Callus on the grip dirt under the nail Proof in the skin that a man prevailed My hands got a gospel rough skin speaks Every hard day left a rhythm in me I don’t need fancy I don’t need sleek My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached [Outro — hook fades] My hands got a gospel my mouth never preached Every line in my palm got a lesson to teach