

Prompt / Lyrics
[Verse 1] Steel-toe boots On a slick brown bank Coffee in a thermos Tastes like rust and rain Whistle hits dawn Same song again Clock-in card And a broke-down crane [Chorus] It’s that Ohio River shift Same mud on my name Carrying steel and sorrow Watchin’ barges fade away Yeah this Ohio River shift Keeps rollin’ through my bones I punch in for the wages Stay late for the soul [Verse 2] Boss man barking From a warm dry chair Hands so clean They ain’t touched this air My back’s been aching Since ‘ninety-two Still I laugh with the boys ‘cause what else we gonna do [Chorus] It’s that Ohio River shift Same mud on my name Carrying steel and sorrow Watchin’ barges fade away Yeah this Ohio River shift Keeps rollin’ through my bones I punch in for the wages Stay late for the soul [Bridge] One day I’ll trade this badge For a midnight porch Let the river talk Like an old front porch But ‘til that day While the sparks still fly I’ll drag these chains And let this blue moon cry (oh yeah) [Chorus] It’s that Ohio River shift Same mud on my name Carrying steel and sorrow Watchin’ barges fade away Yeah this Ohio River shift Keeps rollin’ through my bones I punch in for the wages Stay late for the soul
Tags
rock, Dusty blues-rock band in a small bar room, male vocals with a worn edge, crunchy tremolo guitar and lazy swing drums; verses ride a mid-tempo shuffle that leans into storytelling, chorus widens with organ swells and stacked call-and-response vocals, bridge strips down to vocal, bass, and rim clicks before the full band kicks back in hard for the final hook, blues
3:03
No
4/2/2026