Saddles and Six-Strings

[Verse 1]
You’d tap out rhythms on the dashboard
Thumb and fingers
Lost in some old tune
Boots by the doorway
Hat on the railing
Sunday mornings always came too soon
Oldest daughter watching from the hallway
You’d hand me that beat-up red guitar
Laugh say
“Girl
You’re gonna play someday”
Now I just talk to you in the dark
[Chorus]
I miss your hands on those six-strings
I miss your hat in that old truck seat
I miss the dust and the rope swing
Hearing you cheer every little win in me
If heaven’s got a wide‑open sky for you
And a horse that runs like the wind
Save me a ride on the fence line
Dad
Till I get there again
[Verse 2]
You’d come home smelling like leather and clover
Boot heels scraping mud off on the step
Kiss Mom’s cheek
Lift my chin with your knuckles
Say
“How’s my girl?” like it was the best word you ever said
Two years gone
And I still reach for my phone
Want to tell you what I did today
Your grandson’s laugh sounds a little like yours
And it knocks the air right out of my chest some days
[Chorus]
I miss your hands on those six-strings
I miss your hat in that old truck seat
I miss the dust and the rope swing
Hearing you cheer every little win in me
If heaven’s got a wide‑open sky for you
And a horse that runs like the wind
Save me a ride on the fence line
Dad
Till I get there again
[Bridge]
Some nights I swear I hear you
Soft sticks counting off in my room (one, two)
I close my eyes
You’re laughing
Boots keeping time on the floorboards too
I’m still your girl
Still your melody
Trying to be the kind of strong you knew in me
[Chorus]
I miss your hands on those six-strings
I miss your hat in that old truck seat
I miss the dust and the rope swing
Hearing you cheer every little win in me
If heaven’s got a wide‑open sky for you
And a horse that runs like the wind
Save me a ride on the fence line
Dad
Till I get there again
[Outro]
Yeah
Save me a ride on the fence line
Dad
I’ll be your little girl
Till I’m back in your hands

Gentle country ballad with intimate acoustic guitar, soft piano, and brushed drums. Warm male vocals with close-mic intimacy; female harmony layers in choruses. Subtle pedal steel swells and distant crowd-room reverb on the bridge to feel like a memory opening up, then back to a single guitar and voice on the final lines.