[INTRO]
[Guitar: single-note riff, reverb-like sustain]
Yeah…
(Yeah)
[Murmured] Long days… long nights…
[VERSE 1]
[Fingerpicked pattern, low dynamics]
[Arpeggios]
I was workin’ in the same old boots, paint on my jeans, no shine
Sunrise in my rearview mirror, backbone on the grind
Every bill like a chain on my name, had to break that line
No dad showin’ me the way, had to draw my own spine
Took nails to the hand, took burns on the skin, still I kept that pace
Every splinter that I pull from my palm put hair on my face
They was laughin’ when I clocked in twice, double shift, no breaks
Now they askin’ how I’m standin’ so tall with this much weight
(Psh, I carry that)
[PRE-CHORUS]
[Strum grows wider, light percussive taps on guitar body]
I ain’t built from talk, I’m built from pressure
Every little loss just made me better
You can see the truth in all my effort
[Push vocal] I don’t gotta flex, I just measure… by the
[CHORUS]
[Big open chords, let them ring]
[Hook: half-sung, half-rapped, catchy]
[All in]
Calloused hands, that’s my treasure (yeah)
Real man, I apply that pressure (pressure)
I don’t need a crown or a necklace
[Drop] Just a roof and the ones I’m protectin’ (protectin’)
I been down, but I never stayed under
Storm came, I just walked through the thunder (through the thunder)
[Held note] I don’t need nobody sayin’ I’m the man
[Soft] I just prove it every day with these hands (with these hands, yeah)
[VERSE 2]
[Back to muted strum, slight bounce]
Had nights on the floor, no bed, just plans in my head (my head)
Learned quick that your word mean more than the words you said (facts)
You can buy new shoes, new chains, new shine, new threads
But you can’t buy peace when your soul still owes that debt
So I show up when it’s hard, not just when it’s fun
Hold it down for my people like a loaded gun
If I say that I got you, then it’s already done
If it falls on the line, I’ma be that one
(Always)
[PRE-CHORUS]
[Add subtle hammer-ons, slightly louder vocal]
I ain’t built from talk, I’m built from pressure
Every little scar just wrote me letters
Read between the lines, it spell “forever”
[Push] I don’t gotta say it, I just show you… with this
[CHORUS]
[Repeat, slight melodic variation]
Calloused hands, that’s my treasure (treasure)
Real man, I apply that pressure (pressure)
I don’t need a crown or a necklace
Just a roof and the ones I’m protectin’ (yeah, I’m protectin’)
I been down, but I never stayed under
Storm came, I just walked through the thunder
I don’t need nobody sayin’ I’m the man
I just prove it every day with these hands
[BRIDGE]
[Drop to near a cappella, light thumb hits on muted strings]
[Falsetto accents on last words of each line]
[Soft] Real ain’t in the pictures, it’s in the pain you don’t post (post)
It’s the bills that you pay, it’s the kids that you hold real close (close)
It’s the promise that you keep when the odds say “go” (go)
It’s the man in the mirror knowin’ he won’t fold (won’t fold)
[FINAL CHORUS]
[Full strum]
DCBROOKS2
