[Spoken Dedication] For anyone who's carried heavy days, fought through the noise, and still kept going: this is my story. Wide Bay, red dirt, every word, every scene, every feeling is my own. [Track 1: Red Dirt Start] [Verse 1] Dust on my boots from the road out west Mum's old map folded up in my chest The cane rows lean when the hard winds pass I learned to stand where the ground won't last You said, "Keep moving," with a split-lip grin I kept that sentence under my skin [Pre-Chorus] When the day runs out and the doubts come near I know the road that brought me here [Chorus] I won't let the weight decide my name I won't let the noise erase my flame Every mile, every mark, every mile I own I built this way from the ground below [Track 2: Tin Roof Weather] [Verse 1] Rain on the tin roof, bowls on the floor We moved the old couch away from the door The creek took the fence and the tracks turned brown You laughed while the whole sky came pouring down I learned that a home isn't brick or a key It's the hand reaching back when you can't see [Chorus] Hold fast when the water climbs Hold fast through the changing signs If the creek takes the path we knew We'll find another way through [Track 3: Noise Floor] [Verse 1] Every voice in the room had a verdict to give Every rule had a reason I couldn't quite live I bit down hard till my jaw went sore Then put my palm against the shaking door [Rap Verse] One step, two steps, count the cracks in the tile Keep my eyes on the exit, keep my breath for a while I don't owe every stranger the shape of my truth I can leave with my name and the years of my youth [Chorus] Turn it down, let me hear my own thought I am more than the battles I fought Turn it down, let the old words fall I don't have to answer them all [Track 4: Salt Air, Split Sky] [Verse 1] The bay wind cuts through the back of my shirt I taste the salt and the old day's hurt At the boat ramp, the gulls pick over the foam For a minute the shoreline feels like home [Chorus] Take me where the tide runs wide Where the headland holds the changing sky I'll leave what I can, keep what is true And walk the long way back to you [Track 5: What I Couldn't Say] [Verse 1] I kept the apology under my tongue While the weeks went by and the seasons turned Your number stayed folded inside my wallet The paper wore thin but I never called it [Pre-Chorus] If I could stand in that kitchen again I'd tell you the truth before the evening ends [Chorus] I was wrong, and I know it now I let my pride make a wall somehow If there's room for a word between us two I'll start with the truth: I hurt you [Track 6: Inland Line] [Verse 1] The highway runs past the last servo light Then field after field in the dry season white I drive till the radio loses its voice And the open land leaves me with my choice [Rap Verse] No sign can tell me what I owe to the past No rear-view mirror makes a hard year last I take every lesson, not every bruise The road keeps going; I get to choose [Chorus] Past the range, past the worn-out mile I find my feet, I find my style The distance isn't leaving you behind It's making room for a steadier mind [Track 7: Still Here] [Verse 1] Some mornings my hands don't know what to do The kettle clicks and the whole house is blue I sit on the step till the birds start up Then wash one plate and I fill one cup [Pre-Chorus] Small is a start; a start is enough I don't need easy to prove I'm tough [Chorus] I'm still here, even worn and slow Still a seed where the dry winds blow You don't see every mile I survive But I get up, and that's how I arrive [Track 8: Fire In The Wide Bay Dark] [Verse 1] When the sun slips low past the cane-field line And the first stars show over scrub and pines I remember the roads that took their toll And the names of the hands that kept me whole Some things left; some stayed in place Some old hurt still wears my face But I carry the days I've made it through And the fire I found when I stood with you [Pre-Chorus] From the inland range to the tide-worn shore I know what I was walking for The years can change what the distance brings But this part of me still sings [Chorus] Fire in the Wide Bay dark, still alive in my chest Every hard mile carried me here; I can take the next Fire in the Wide Bay dark, not a borrowed spark It's the stubborn little yes I keep against the dark [Verse 2] I'm still walking the track I chose Still learning the shape of the life that grows Some days the noise comes crowding in Some days I laugh and let the day begin There's more road waiting past this turn More to lose and more to learn I bring every lesson, every scar Like a compass set by where we are [Bridge] This is my story, this is my ground The ones who stayed when I broke down I'm still here; I made it through And every step belongs to me and you [Final Chorus] Fire in the Wide Bay dark, still alive in my chest Every hard mile carried me here; I can take the next Fire in the Wide Bay dark, not a borrowed spark It's the stubborn little yes I keep against the dark Fire in the Wide Bay dark, through the years and the scars I know where I came from, I know who we are [Outro] The red dirt settles; the engine cools The bay keeps breathing past the dunes Still here, still walking, still my own Wide Bay holds the road I call home
