Boots on Foreign Ground

Intro (8 bars)

(Acoustic guitar + muted drums, steel slide pickup lick)

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Verse 1

I was twenty-one with a buzz cut head

Green duffel bag and a plane ticket west

Momma cried but she held it in

Daddy said “son, go make us proud of who you’ve been”

I traded Friday nights for camouflage

Learned real quick what brotherhood costs

Different flags, different skies

But the same stars shining every night

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Pre-Chorus

Yeah I’ve stood where the maps don’t fold

Heard freedom ring in another tongue

But every mile that I’ve ever roamed

Pulled me closer to where I’m from

(Melody climbs, drums build)

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Chorus (BIG HOOK)

I’ve had my boots on foreign ground

Seen the whole world upside down

From desert sand to ocean towns

But nothing feels like coming back around

Yeah I’ve saluted flags I don’t call mine

Counted days on a dotted line

I’ve been everywhere duty’s found

But home’s the only place that slows me down

(Hook line repeat ad-lib)

“Home’s the only place that slows me down”

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Post-Chorus Hook (4 bars)

(Gang vocals)

Slow me down… yeah slow me down

Home’s the only place that slows me down

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Verse 2

Postcards from a different life

Midnight watch and a sunrise flight

Shared a laugh with a foreign friend

Different story, same hope in the end

I’ve watched the world from a cargo door

Heard my name in a welcome roar

That driveway never looked so small

But it carried everything I missed the most of all

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Pre-Chorus 2

Every road had a reason why

Every goodbye taught me grace

But every time I closed my eyes

I saw your face

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Chorus (Repeat – Full Band)

I’ve had my boots on foreign ground

Seen the whole world upside down

From desert sand to ocean towns

But nothing feels like coming back around

Yeah I’ve saluted flags I don’t call mine

Counted days on a dotted line

I’ve been everywhere duty’s found

But home’s the only place that slows me down

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Bridge (Break it Down – Half Time Feel)

If I don’t make it back tonight

Tell the kids I tried to do it right

Tell ‘em freedom’s more than words

It’s the sound of a screen door and gravel under tires

(Band swells back in)

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Final Chorus (Double Chorus / Lifted Melody)

I’ve had my boots on foreign ground

Seen the whole world upside down

Heard freedom’s heartbeat pound

In every place my shadow found

But I’d trade it all just one more time

For your hand slipping into mine

I’ve been everywhere duty’s found

But home’s the only place that slows me down

⸻

Outro (Hook Reprise – Fade)

Yeah home’s the only place that slows me down

(Steel guitar rides out)