[TITLE: The Way It Goes] [ARTIST: Earthling] [GENRE: Heartland Folk Rock • Storytelling Americana] [TEMPO: 96 BPM] [KEY: G Major] [MOOD: Warm • Wry • Lived-In • Porchlight Nostalgia] [VOCAL: Weathered, conversational baritone; loose harmony on the choruses] [INSTRUMENTS: Acoustic guitar, warm bass, light stomp and snare, organ, fiddle, harmonica] [PRODUCTION: Intimate verses; a full, communal final chorus] [INTRO — acoustic riff, light stomp] Let me tell you a story about a girl I know Well, I’ll tell it as best I can The way it goes [VERSE 1] She came in like a summer rain On a dust-road heart that forgot its name Boots on gravel, eyes on fire A laugh that could wake up the whole damn choir She drew a crooked line across my hand Said, “There’s no use making a perfect plan The road will turn when the wild wind blows— Baby, that’s just the way it goes.” [CHORUS] And the way it goes Is you fall, you rise Lose your footing, find your stride Hold on close, then let it roll Love don’t ask for control Oh, the way it goes Ain’t written in stone It’s written in the miles that bring you home And every scar that the daylight shows That’s just the way it goes [VERSE 2] She danced in the kitchen at half past two Sang an old church hymn like it was new Burned the toast and laughed at me For reading every road sign we could see She had a temper like Oklahoma wind And mercy when the hard rain settled in When I tried to fix what I couldn’t hold She said, “Come sit with me. Let the story unfold.” [CHORUS] And the way it goes Is you burn, you mend Swear you’re done, then you try again Think you know, till you don’t quite know That’s just the way it goes Oh, the way it goes Ain’t written in stone It’s written in the miles that bring you home And every scar that the daylight shows That’s just the way it goes [BRIDGE — band drops to handclaps and two voices] I thought love meant knowing where we’d land Keeping every turn inside my hands She took the wheel beneath a copper sky Said, “You can ride along. Just let me drive.” [HARMONICA TURNAROUND — band builds] [FINAL CHORUS — full band, open harmonies] Yeah, the way it goes We grow, we bend Lose our way and find the road again I held her close, and I held her free That’s how she stayed with me Oh, the way it goes Ain’t written in stone It’s written in the miles we’ve known And every scar that the daylight shows That’s just the way it goes [OUTRO — acoustic guitar and fading harmonica] She came in like a summer rain And I still smile when it rains again
