“JESUS WALK WITH ME” Artist: DA BEAST / 12Gauge858 Music © 2026 12Gauge858 Music. All Rights Reserved. Written August 14, 2026 [INTRO — SPOKEN, DARK / FOOTSTEPS / DISTANT BLUES GUITAR] Every year around this time I feel it before I see it. Pressure in my chest, fire underneath everything I buried. I work, drive, laugh, tell everybody I’m good, but inside I’m a volcano with a bad attitude, ready to erupt. Thank God for this music, ‘cause tonight I can’t put the lid back on it. Jesus… walk with me. [VERSE 1 — LOW, CONTROLLED] August eighteenth coming, my body already knows, Before the calendar reminds me, that pressure starts to grow. Change the road, turn the radio up, grief still finds me there, I was hauling a load when that phone changed everything. His mother on the other end, something in her tone, Before she said the words I knew I wasn’t going home the same. My son’s plane had been hit, his ejection malfunctioned, He couldn’t get out… Lord, he couldn’t get out. [BEAT CUTS] They told me my boy stayed calm through everything he faced, And while his world was falling, his daddy crossed his mind. “Tell my dad I’m sorry… I love him.” [LONG SILENCE] Son, what were you sorry for? You did NOTHING wrong. You hear your daddy? Nothing. There was nothing to forgive. [VERSE 2 — MAMA’S SCREAM] Then Mama found out… Lord, I’ll never forget that sound. [ALL MUSIC CUTS] [ONE RAW FEMALE SCREAM OF GRIEF — NOT SUNG — LONG ECHO] [5-SECOND SILENCE] That scream still haunts me, comes back this time each year. Driving, working, sitting still, suddenly Mama’s in my ear. Like my mind kept a recording I never asked it to save, Every August comes around and somebody presses play. [CHORUS — HAUNTED MALE CHOIR / DARK CELLO / HEARTBEAT 808] DA BEAST: Jesus, walk with me, August ain’t another month to me. It’s that phone call, it’s my boy, It’s Mama’s scream still haunting me. CHOIR — DISTANT: Walk with me… walk with me… DA BEAST: I ain’t asking You to erase one memory, Just stay close when all this weight comes looking for me. CHOIR: Stay with me… DA BEAST: Jesus… walk with me. [VERSE 3 — NOVEMBER / DADDY] Then August passes, but November starts coming, Everybody sees Thanksgiving, I see the day before it. That’s when Daddy left, so every holiday returns With family around the table and that empty place that burns. I’ve got plenty to thank God for, gratitude is real, But being thankful never means a man forgets what he can feel. Loving who’s still here don’t make an empty chair disappear, Some moments I forget you’re gone, then lose you all over again. Daddy, I still miss you. Thanksgiving still ain’t Thanksgiving without you. [CHORUS — CHOIR CLOSER] DA BEAST: Jesus, walk with me, August brings my boy, November brings Daddy. Two different wounds living in the same body, Faith don’t mean I don’t bleed. CHOIR: Walk with me… stay with me… DA BEAST: Being strong don’t mean this weight ain’t heavy. Jesus, don’t let me walk this part alone. [VERSE 4 — VOLCANO BUILD] This the part nobody sees, every year the ground starts shaking, Pressure underneath my chest, everything inside me waking. People see the smoke, don’t know what’s underneath— ANGER. Yeah, I said it. I’m angry my father ain’t here, angry my son ain’t here. Angry I was hauling freight when that damn telephone rang. Angry his plane was hit, angry that ejection failed, Angry my boy couldn’t get out and I couldn’t be there. I’m angry he apologized for something wasn’t his fault! WHAT WERE YOU SORRY FOR, SON?! [VOICE BREAK] What were you sorry for? I would’ve traded places with you. Don’t give me logic, I’m telling you what a daddy’s heart says. I would’ve traded places. [BRIDGE — FULL ERUPTION] Every damn year around this time I FEEL IT COMING! August gets closer—PRESSURE! Mama’s scream—PRESSURE! My son’s last words—PRESSURE! November, Daddy—PRESSURE! Everybody asks, “You good?” Yeah, I’m good… that’s what I say. BUT I’M NOT GOOD! I’m a volcano with a bad attitude toward eruption, Years of heat, swallowed words and hidden tears, Years of getting up because somebody needed me, Years of carrying everybody while mine was breaking me. I’M TIRED OF HOLDING IT! [EVERYTHING CUTS] Jesus… I know You already know, but I need to say it. I miss my son. I miss my father. Mama’s scream still follows me. And sometimes… I’m angry with You too. [PAUSE] There. I said it. I’m angry, but I still believe. I hurt, but I still trust You. I still pray, but some nights my prayer got teeth in it. Don’t make me clean it up before I bring it to You. [BREAKDOWN — BLUES GUITAR ONLY] Thank God for this music. This microphone don’t tell me to be strong, This guitar don’t tell me it’s been long enough. The beat don’t ask why I’m still grieving, Music just lets me get it out. When I can’t cry, the guitar can. When I can’t explain it, the cello can moan. When my chest gets too full, the beat carries some. When that volcano shakes, this music lets the pressure ru
