Cardboard box

“CARDBOARD BOX”

They see the paycheck.

They see the trucks.

They see the lights on the pad.

They don't see what we see.

---

She kissed me at the doorway, said, “Be safe out there,”

I smiled and said, “I will,” like I always say I swear.

She knows the job is dangerous,

She knows the things I've seen,

But you can't explain the oilfield

To somebody who's never been.

There's pressure in those lines,

There's fire in those engines,

There's things that can go wrong

In less than half a second.

So I climb into that truck

And watch her disappear,

Trying not to think about

The thing we never say out loud.

What if I don't come home?

---

'Cause I don't wanna come home

In a cardboard box.

I don't wanna be a picture

On somebody's dashboard.

Don't wanna leave my woman

Standing at that front door,

Waiting on a truck that ain't

Ever gonna pull up anymore.

I don't wanna be a name

That somebody's reading on the news.

Don't wanna leave the ones I love

With nothing left to lose.

So when those pumps start screaming

And that pressure starts to climb,

I say a little prayer

And keep my head right every time.

'Cause there's somebody waiting on me.

And I ain't ready to go.

---

You learn to respect the iron,

You learn to watch the gauges,

You learn that every shortcut

Can turn into somebody's grave.

You check another valve,

You check another line,

You trust the man beside you

With your life every damn time.

And nobody wants to talk about

The close calls when they're done.

Just laugh it off and say,

“Hell, boys, that was a good one.”

But when the night's gone quiet

And you're laying in that bed,

That's when every “what if”

Starts running through your head.

---

'Cause I don't wanna come home

In a cardboard box.

I don't wanna be a picture

On somebody's dashboard.

Don't wanna leave my woman

Standing at that front door,

Waiting on a truck that ain't

Ever gonna pull up anymore.

I don't wanna be a name

That somebody's reading on the news.

Don't wanna leave the ones I love

With nothing left to lose.

So when those pumps start screaming

And that pressure starts to climb,

I say a little prayer

And keep my head right every time.

'Cause there's somebody waiting on me.

And I ain't ready to go.

---

There's a little life back home

That don't know what danger means,

Just knows Daddy goes to work

And comes back home eventually.

And God, that's what scares me—

Not the noise or flames or steel.

It's the thought of missing birthdays,

First steps, and everything that's real.

What if the last thing that she hears

Is somebody at the door?

What if instead of hearing my truck

She hears, “He ain't coming home anymore”?

What do you tell a family

When the job took everything?

You can't put a man back in a cardboard box

And call that coming home.

...................................................