The Graceful Degradation Jig

[Verse 1] First day at the barn Left me banjo too near Set the kettle to sing Then the smoke curled up here Grabbed a bucket of rain Thought I’d douse it with pride But the porch caught a spark And the strings charred one side [Chorus] So raise your mugs Keep your fingers clear That old wood’s got a temper We mend We laugh We play the half And pass the song around For every string that snaps in two We find another tune For the brave Half-burnt Still pickin’ along Are the finest fools in town (hey!) [Verse 2] Took it down to the square for the harvest dance One string gave a cough Then it quit mid-stance Played the rest of the set with a thumb and a grin When the fiddler yelled, “One more!” I counted us in [Chorus] So raise your mugs Keep your fingers clear That old wood’s got a temper We mend We laugh We play the half And pass the song around For every string that snaps in two We find another tune For the brave Half-burnt Still pickin’ along Are the finest fools in town (hey!) [Bridge] Here’s to the hands with the soot on the nails To the porch-side tune that outlived the tale To the cracked old rim and the singed leather strap To the stubborn old songs that come back after that (ooh yeah) [Chorus] So raise your mugs And your stubborn grin Let the scorch marks join the band We mend We laugh We play the half Then start the tune again For every note that drops right out We answer back, “That’s fine!” For the brave Half-burnt Still pickin’ along Are the ones who keep good time (hey!)