Ride Away Again

(Verse 1)
Dust risin’ up in the midway lights
Friday night in a nowhere town
Drawn number seven, leather pulled tight
When they dropped that chute gate down
Eight seconds hangin’ on for pride
Caught a glimpse from the grandstand side
Blue dress caught in the summer wind
Then the moment passed me by

(Pre-Chorus)
Might’ve been the lights, might’ve been the ride
Might’ve just been a passin’ thing
By mornin’ I was back on the road
Chasin’ them buckles and dreams

(Chorus)
Somewhere between the buzzer and the roar
Thought I saw somethin’ worth slowin’ for
But the road don’t wait and neither do I
So I left that town behind
Figured if it was meant to be
It’d find its way somehow
Then a year rolled by
And we rolled back around

(Verse 2)
Same fairgrounds, same red dirt
Same Friday night crowd
Nodded once and the gate flew wide
Hung on, rode it out proud
Climbed down, peeled my glove off slow
Heart steady, boots on the ground
Turned toward the back of the chutes

And she was standin’ there now

(Bridge)
No grandstand lights, no distance far
Just her and that shy smile
She took one step, looked up at me
Like she’d been there awhile
Said, “Last year I let you leave
Didn’t know what I’d found…”

(HOOK LINE)
“I couldn’t let you ride away again.”

(Final Chorus)
“I couldn’t let you ride away again,
Not without knowin’ your name.
I watched you disappear last year
And I ain’t makin’ that mistake.”
Somewhere between back then and now
Fate drew a circle in the dust
Turns out some things don’t fade away
When they’re meant for us
Yeah sometimes love don’t make a sound
It just waits…
So it don’t ride away again

(Outro)
Now there’s a porch swing and a front yard fence
Where the county road bends
And every time I leave for a show
She smiles and says it again

“I couldn’t let you ride away…”

Slow country rodeo ballad, intimate male vocal, pedal steel, soft bridge hook, big emotional lift