Price of Living, Cost of Soul

[Instrumentation: Acoustic Guitar, Crying Telecaster Lead, Blues Harmonica, B3 Organ] [Vocal Style: Deep Raspy Baritone, Breathy Whispering to Gritty Belting] [Intro] [Slow, acoustic guitar strumming with heavy tube warmth] [Mournful blues harmonica bend] [Deep, raspy exhale] (Mmm... yeah...) [Verse 1] [Vocal: Quiet, breathy, gravelly baritone] I remember when the dust on this road was red... Before they poured the concrete over where the cedars bled. Used to sit by the Guadalupe with an old cane pole, No price tag on the water, no weight upon my soul. [Guitar answer: Slow, crying string bend] [Verse 2] [Vocal: Conversational, raspy twang] We didn't talk about the dollars, didn't fight about the news, Just worked the dirt all week and danced off the blues. Didn't care where you came from, as long as you were true, We stood for the flag, proud Red, White, and Blue. [Harmonica Lick: Wailing, emotional response] [Chorus] [Vocal: Gritty, powerful chest voice with deep vibrato] Now there's high-rises rising where the wild oaks grew, And a million strangers talking 'bout a land they never knew! Yeah, the price of living's higher, but the heart is going low... [Vocal drops to a gravelly whisper] Looking at my home town... that I don't even know. [Guitar Solo] [Solo: Expressive blues Telecaster solo, heavy string bends, raw tube-amp grit, dynamic call-and-response with harmonica] [Verse 3] [Vocal: Low, steady, textured gravel] People used to look you in the eye when they shook your hand, Now everybody's fighting over lines in the sand. Only folks worried 'bout color back when I was a kid... Were the high-society folk who didn't know what we did. [Organ Swell] [Chorus] [Vocal: Full grit and raw emotion] Yeah, there's high-rises rising where the wild oaks grew! And a million strangers talking bout a land they never knew! The price of living's higher, but the heart is going low... Looking at this Hill Country... that I don't even know. [Outro] [Vocal: Soft raspy humming, trailing off] Mmm... take me back to the river... Before the whole world changed... [Guitar Lick: Final sustained, crying note with heavy vibrato] [Fade Out] [END], [END], [END]