[Verse 1]
Memphis heat on my skin
Blue marks under my grin
Mama said, "Don't tell them"
So I swallowed it again
Back porch steps, I froze
Truck gone when I woke
He left a name in the dust
Then he let the rest go cold
[Pre-Chorus]
I shake when you get near
I don't know love from fear
Every kind word feels like rope
Pulling tight around my throat
[Chorus]
Blacktop bruises, blacktop bruises
I keep driving through it
Blacktop bruises, blacktop bruises
Baby, I don't know how to lose this
Hands on my chest
Ghost in my room
Blacktop bruises
Still calling you
[Verse 2]
Your perfume hits like smoke
Sweet at first, then it chokes
You say, "Trust me, baby"
But I hear the door lock close
I learned love with a flinch
With a jaw set hard as bricks
If I run, don't call it weakness
That's the scar talking, not my lips
[Pre-Chorus]
I shake when you get near
I don't know love from fear
Every kind word feels like rope
Pulling tight around my throat
[Chorus]
Blacktop bruises, blacktop bruises
I keep driving through it
Blacktop bruises, blacktop bruises
Baby, I don't know how to lose this
Hands on my chest
Ghost in my room
Blacktop bruises
Still calling you
[Bridge]
If I break, I break loud
Let it echo through this town
I was built from what you hit
Still I'm standing in it
Father's shadow on my back
Mama cried, then she stayed
If you want me, tell the truth
Don't make me bleed to stay
[Final Chorus]
Blacktop bruises, blacktop bruises
I keep driving through it
Blacktop bruises, blacktop bruises
Baby, I don't know how to lose this
Hands on my chest
Ghost in my room
Blacktop bruises
I'm not your wound