Last Call Came Early

[Verse 1]
Two weeks ‘til the bank takes the house
Lawyer took the truck
Judge took my last ounce
Of pride I had left in my throat
Now it’s drowning in this cheap-ass coat
Of bourbon on my breath
Burning like the truth
Labels on the bottles reading clearer than my youth
Ex-wife on the voicemail
“You’re scaring the kids”
I just hit delete
Then I take another hit
[Chorus]
So pour that poison
Fill it to the rim
If I’m going down
I’m going down in this
Last call came early
But I ain’t done yet
I’m raising hell with every fuck I regret
Yeah
I’m drinking myself to death in slow motion
Glass full of ghosts
Heart full of corrosion
If the good Lord’s watching
He can look away
I’ll meet Him face down in this ashtray
[Verse 2]
Boss shook my hand
Said
“You’re like a son”
Then he signed the paper
Said
“Your time here’s done”
My name on a box by the backdoor step
Picture of my kids
Paycheck I never kept
Used to have a dog
Used to have a band
Now it’s one barstool and this shaking hand
Bartender’s tired of my same old shit
But she still leaves the bottle when I say
“Just leave it”
[Chorus]
So pour that poison
Fill it to the rim
If I’m going down
I’m going down in this
Last call came early
But I ain’t done yet
I’m raising hell with every fuck I regret
Yeah
I’m drinking myself to death in slow motion
Glass full of ghosts
Heart full of corrosion
If the good Lord’s watching
He can look away
I’ll meet Him face down in this ashtray
[Bridge]
[Strings creep in
Low and tense]
Violin crying in the corner like my ma at my first arrest
Cello hums a funeral for the man I never did confess
To being this broken
This bitter
This bent
I’m a walking foreclosure
I’m past-due rent
[Violin climbs
Vocal cracks]
I ain’t suicidal
I’m just letting go
Of every last reason I had to stay afloat
Sip by sip
Kiss by kiss on the rim
I’m praying this liquor does what I can’t begin
[Chorus]
So pour that poison
Fill it to the rim
If I’m going down
I’m going down in this
Last call came early
Now my hands shake
I’m saying sorry to the ghosts that I make
Yeah
I’m drinking myself to death in slow motion
Liver screaming mercy
I just say
“Fuck it
Keep it going”
If the good Lord’s watching
He can look away
I’ll die slow-dancing with this goddamn decay
[Outro]
[Fingerpicked guitar and lone violin
Almost whisper-quiet]
Keys on the counter
Front door unlocked
Kids’ crayon drawings on the fridge
Ticking clock
One more swallow
Then I turn out the light
“Save me
” on my lips
But I drink it back down (alright)
(yeah… alright)

folk, Bleak country-folk indie ballad with male vocals; sparse fingerpicked guitar sets a fragile pulse under an ominous string quartet, violin taking a crying, aching lead. Verses stay almost whispered, close-mic and intimate, with cello and viola slowly creeping in like storm clouds. Choruses swell into gut-punch emotion as violin climbs and harmonies crack, then everything drops to near silence on the last line of each hook. Final refrain rides a tear-jerking guitar-violin duet into a raw, dying-out vocal ad-lib., country, depressing, string quartet, violin