The Long Way Home

[intro – jangly guitar riff, steady drums, bass enters warm] Yeah… I don’t wanna just exist. [verse 1 – gritty male vocal, steady heartland rhythm] Clock hits six and the coffee’s cold, Same old boots on the same old road. Punch my name in a dying machine, Trade my hours for a quiet scream. There’s a sun coming up through the factory smoke, And a kid in my chest that still wants to go. He says, “Man, you weren’t made for this, To keep breathing and call it living.” [pre-chorus – guitars open slightly] I’ve been saving all my fire For a day that never comes. I’ve been standing in the doorway Like I’m waiting on someone. [chorus – full band lift, anthemic] I wanna take the long way home, Feel the rain on my skin. Leave the straight white lines And let the world rush in. I wanna burn, I wanna risk, I wanna know what I missed. There’s a life out there calling, And I ain’t done with it. I wanna live, Not just exist. [verse 2 – jangly guitars, more motion] There’s a girl at the diner with tired eyes, Says she dreams about leaving every Friday night. But the rent comes due and the engine stalls, So she paints little skies on the bathroom wall. There’s a man on the corner with a cardboard sign, And a preacher on the radio selling borrowed light. Everybody’s got a holy plan, But I need dirt on my own two hands. [pre-chorus – stronger] I’ve been counting all my reasons Like pennies in a jar. But a heart don’t start beating Till you take it out of park. [chorus – bigger, singalong] I wanna take the long way home, Feel the rain on my skin. Leave the straight white lines And let the world rush in. I wanna burn, I wanna risk, I wanna know what I missed. There’s a life out there calling, And I ain’t done with it. I wanna live, Not just exist. [bridge – stripped down, clean guitar and gritty vocal] Maybe I’ll fail with my hands wide open. Maybe I’ll fall where the blacktop bends. Maybe the dream is a rusted engine, But I’ll turn that key again. I don’t need a perfect heaven. I don’t need a promised land. I just need one real morning That I didn’t let slip through my hands. [build – drums return, guitars swelling] No more waiting for the right time. No more sleeping through the spark. No more calling it a lifetime When I’m hiding from my heart. [final chorus – biggest lift, layered backing vocals] I wanna take the long way home, Feel the rain on my skin. Leave the straight white lines And let the world rush in. I wanna burn, I wanna risk, I wanna love, I wanna miss. There’s a life out there calling, And I ain’t done with it. I wanna take the long way home, Put some miles on my soul. Break the lock on the years I forgot I could own. I wanna live, Not just exist. [outro – jangly guitars ringing, drums easing out] There’s a road past the county line, There’s a match in my shaking fist. [final line – gritty, half-spoken] I’m taking the long way home.