Last Look Down

[Verse 1]
Melissa packed the map
Joe packed the silence
A cooler in the back
And dust on the vinyl
They rolled past the gas signs
Past the sleeping hogs
No one said the word
That was parked in the dark
[Pre-Chorus]
The road got thin
The sky got wide
She kept her hand
On the passenger side
He looked ahead
Like he could outrun
What two hearts know
When the map is done
[Chorus]
Last look down
Last look down
Hold my hand
When the canyon comes around
Last look down
Last look down
Don’t let go
When the canyon comes around
[Verse 2]
A hawk cut low
Over rust-red stone
Joe found a place
And killed the engine’s drone
Melissa laughed once
Then bit her lip
Like a prayer unsaid
At the edge of it
He said, “We made it”
She said, “We did”
The wind took both
And the truth they hid
Two small shadows
On a giant face
One last mile
To a split-open place
[Pre-Chorus]
The road got thin
The sky got wide
She kept her hand
On the passenger side
He looked at her
Then at the sun
Like every ending
Had already begun
[Chorus]
Last look down
Last look down
Hold my hand
When the canyon comes around
Last look down
Last look down
Don’t let go
When the canyon comes around
[Bridge]
If this is the line
Then say it plain
If this is goodbye
Let it come clean
She closed her eyes
He closed the gap
And somewhere far off
A crow called back
[Final Chorus]
Last look down
Last look down
Hold my hand
When the canyon comes around
Last look down
Last look down
We were here
And we came back around
[Outro]
Melissa and Joe
In the red wind glow
One last breath
Then the long way home

Indie-folk ballad with a slow swung 6/8 feel, fingerpicked acoustic guitar and brushed snare; verse stays sparse with close-mic voice and room tone, pre-chorus adds low cello and a tremolo guitar shimmer, chorus opens with harmony stack and a rising kick pulse. Use soft double-tracked lead, a few wordless oohs, delayed backing echoes on the hook, reversed wind swell into the chorus, and a dusty wide mix that feels intimate and cinematic., rock