Macon After Midnight

[Verse 1]
I left my boots by the back door, dust on the heel
Same old porch, same cold coffee, same empty meal
The dog won’t come lay where your dress used to swing
And the whole house keeps asking me what I’m gonna be
I tried to work it off, tried to drink it off too
But every road in this county just circles back to you
There’s a calendar pinned up, but the days don’t move
Just a man in a quiet room with nothing left to prove
[Pre-Chorus]
And I keep staring at the dark like it owes me a sign
Some small reason to wake up and stay on this side
I’m not proud of the way this heart’s come apart
I’m just honest when I say I’m lost in the dark
[Chorus]
I’m lost without you, lost in the long, slow blue
If you’re gone for good, tell me what am I supposed to do
I need a reason, need a reason to stay
Need something kinder than this empty day
I’m lost without you, and I’m sayin’ it plain
I’ve been drownin’ in silence, callin’ your name
[Verse 2]
Your mug’s still on the shelf by the chipped sink light
Your scarf in the chair where you left it that night
I reach for your hand in the middle of sleep
Then I wake to the ceiling and a grief that runs deep
Folks say time heals, but they don’t know this ache
When the wind hits the screen door, my whole body shakes
I’ve smiled for the neighbors, I’ve nodded and lied
But the truth sits heavy right here by my side
[Pre-Chorus]
And I keep staring at the dark like it owes me a sign
Some small reason to wake up and stay on this side
I’m not proud of the way this heart’s come apart
I’m just honest when I say I’m lost in the dark
[Chorus]
I’m lost without you, lost in the long, slow blue
If you’re gone for good, tell me what am I supposed to do
I need a reason, need a reason to stay
Need something kinder than this empty day
I’m lost without you, and I’m sayin’ it plain
I’ve been drownin’ in silence, callin’ your name
[Bridge]
[1973 AM-radio haze, tape wobble, motel-room piano]
On Peachtree at 11:15, the rain kept fallin’ thin
I heard a voice in a payphone hum and thought it might be you again
Old ghosts in the receiver, cracklin’ through the line
Sayin’ “boy, keep breathing now, you’re gonna be alright”
So if heaven’s got a hallway and you can hear me somehow
Leave a little light on the edge of it now
I’m not too proud to ask, I’m not too strong to bend
If there’s a road back to living, let me find it again
[Chorus]
I’m lost without you, lost in the long, slow blue
If you’re gone for good, tell me what am I supposed to do
I need a reason, need a reason to stay
Need something kinder than this empty day
I’m lost without you, and I’m sayin’ it plain
I’ve been drownin’ in silence, callin’ your name
[Outro]
Callin’ your name
Callin’ your name
I’m still here, barely, but I’m here again

Deep-soul country ballad with male vocals, weeping pedal steel, low brushed drums, upright bass, and a weathered organ pad; raw lead takes, cracked harmony answers, and a bridge that flips into a 1970s AM-radio haze with tape wobble and a ghostly motel-room piano swell, soulful, ballad, country, deep, raw