Chokehold Lullaby

Daddy kept a .38 under the sink,

Mama kept quiet with a long slow blink.

We learned real quick what not to say,

And how to lie when the cops came late.

A slap for talkin’, a drink for pride,

And not much else to get you by.

I stole my first smoke from a glovebox tin,

Learned to run fast when the truth kicked in.

Some nights I talk to the roof and wait,

For the silence to shift or the hands to break.

You don’t pray in a house like that,

You just whisper lies and never look back

Ain’t looking for Heaven, ain’t scared of Hell,

Just got secrets that I don’t dare tell.

I made it this far, and I ain’t askin’ why—

I just shut my eyes to a chokehold lullaby.

It don’t sing sweet and it don’t sing kind,

But it’s wrapped around every night of mine.

It don’t let go, and it don’t ask why—

I just hum along to a chokehold lullaby.

There’s a shirt in a drawer I ain’t touched in years,

Still smells like the fall and a pack of cheap beers.

Some names don’t leave, they just fade in smoke,

And some things you lose before they’re broke.

I just keep movin’ like I ain’t been burned,

With a fist full of habits I never unlearned.

Thought I could hold what I’d never admit,

But it stuck to my ribs like nicotine hit.

Always the one showin’ up when it breaks,

Says nothin’ much but still knows what it takes.

I patch what’s bent and leave what ain’t mine—

Some wires don’t cross, even when they spark fine.

Ain’t looking for Heaven, ain’t scared of Hell,

Just got secrets that I don’t dare tell.

I made it this far, and I ain’t askin’ why—

I just shut my eyes to a chokehold lullaby.

It don’t sing sweet and it don’t sing kind,

But it’s wrapped around every night of mine.

It don’t let go, and it don’t ask why—

I just hum along to a chokehold lullaby.

Oh, the nights are long and lonely, the whiskey’s like a friend,

But it leads me to the demons that I can’t comprehend.

I hold on to your memory, like a whisper in the dark,

But every sip I take is a slow exhausted spark.

Ain’t looking for Heaven, ain’t scared of Hell,

Just got secrets that I don’t dare tell.

I made it this far, and I ain’t askin’ why—

I just shut my eyes to a chokehold lullaby.

It don’t sing sweet and it don’t sing kind,

But it’s wrapped around every night of mine.

It don’t let go, and it don’t ask why—

I just hum along to a chokehold lullaby.

But every sip I take is a slow exhausted spark.

Ain’t looking for Heaven, ain’t scared of Hell,

Just got secrets that I don’t dare tell.

I made it this far, and I ain’t askin’ why—

I just shut my eyes to a chokehold lullaby.

It don’t sing sweet and it don’t sing kind,

But it’s wrapped around every night of mine.

It don’t let go, and it don’t ask why—

I just hum along to a chokehold lullaby.