[Intro] [Fingerpicked acoustic, 6/8, winter wind, tremolo guitar swell, 4 bars] [Verse 1] Dale called me in December, three years since we'd talked, Said he had his daddy's cabin where the plow road gives out. Said a boy from his old unit swore they fixed his sleep— Figured what the hell, I'd been sleepin' fine without. Boiled 'em in a coffee pot and choked 'em down like mud, Built a fire in the yard up by the woodshed wall. Second hour, Dale got quiet, started talkin' 'bout the sand— I kept waitin' on the kick, but it never came at all. [Chorus] He went screamin' through the snow in nothin' but his skin, I sat there, fire dyin', and I didn't feel a thing. Everybody's gonna ask about the one who lost his mind— Ain't nobody checkin' on the one who was fine. [Verse 2] I watched him clear the fence line, hollerin' at the trees, Thought about Ramirez' funeral, how I carried him dry-eyed. Thought about the day my wife packed the kids up and left, Said a man who hollered beat this quiet every night. Every year the VA asks me how I'm sleepin' now, I say "fine" and count the water stains up on the ceilin'. Dale was out there in the pasture, bawlin' like a calf, And God help me, I was jealous of whatever he was feelin'. [Chorus] He went screamin' through the snow in nothin' but his skin, I sat there, fire dyin', and I didn't feel a thing. Everybody's gonna ask about the one who lost his mind— Ain't nobody checkin' on the one who was fine. [Bridge] [Half-time, bare guitar, near-spoken] Then he broke toward the river where the ice was runnin' thin, I was up and runnin' 'fore I knew I'd left my chair. Took him down into a snowdrift, wrapped my coat around his shoulders, He grabbed my collar, shakin', said, "Man, it was warm out there— The boys were at the tree line, and they'd saved a place for me." First time since I came home, I felt the cold come in. [Final Chorus] [Band returns, restrained, pedal steel cries] We were shakin' in the snow, him in nothin' but his skin, I held on with the fire dead, and Lord, I felt everything. Everybody's gonna ask about the one who lost his mind— Ain't nobody checkin' on the one who was fine. [Outro] [Lone fingerpicked guitar, wind] [Spoken, Male] Dale called this mornin'... asked me how I'm doin'. ...I told him. [End]
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