Verse 1
Born back where the blacktop quits,
Holler breath, hand-me-down sins.
Mama cried into rust-stained sinks,
Daddy taught me how a man don’t blink.
Ran shine through bends with a busted tag,
Meth on the scale in a Crown Royal bag.
Gun oil, sweat, red clay knees,
Learned real young don’t beg, don’t plead.
Pre-Chorus
Had to split my mind just to stay fed,
One stayed quiet, one stayed dead.
Chorus
I got two names carved in this holler bone,
One says stay, one says go.
One says pray, one says strike,
Both come out when it’s late at night.
Don’t know which one’s holdin’ the wheel,
When the fog rolls in and the voices feel real.
Just a holler boy, half gone inside,
With two mean ghosts ridin’ my spine.
Verse 2
Kinfolk smile like they ain’t done dirt,
But blood round here still comes out hurt.
Promises rot like possum meat,
Everybody’s holy till it costs somethin’ to eat.
Learned how to laugh with a split lip grin,
Learned how to lose without givin’ in.
Violence talks like it’s kin to me,
Says “Boy, this blood’s in your family tree.”
Pre-Chorus
One voice hums old gospel tunes,
One just waits for the boom.
Chorus
I got two names carved in this holler bone,
One wants calm, one wants control.
One wants out, one wants more,
Both still scratchin’ at the same damn door.
Don’t know which one’s gonna rise tonight,
When the past starts barkin’ and the moon turns white.
Just a holler boy, half gone inside,
With two mean ghosts ridin’ my spine.
Bridge (low, near-spoken)
Doc said “Son, your head ain’t right,”
Like that ain’t been true my whole damn life.
Some days I’m here, some days I ain’t,
Some nights I wake up full of hate.
I ain’t claimin’ clean, I ain’t claimin’ saved,
Just tryin’ not to die the way I was raised.
Breakdown
If God still walks these creek-bed roads,
He’s seen me split, He knows what I know.
If mercy can crawl through mud and wire,
Maybe it can reach a mind on fire.
Final Chorus
I got two names carved in this holler bone,
But I’m still standin’, still drawin’ breath alone.
One wants chains, one wants clear,
One still drunk on leftover fear.
Don’t know which one’s gonna win this war,
But I ain’t layin’ down on the cabin floor.
Holler born, hell trained,
But I ain’t gotta die that same damn name.
Outro
Creek still whispers what I been,
But I ain’t listenin’ like I did back then.
Broken2Blessed
