Grandpa’s America

[Verse 1]
He’d lean back in that lawn chair
Sunset on a small-town store
Said, “We argued like wild dogs
Then shook hands at the door”
Bills paid on a paycheck
Rust on the old white Ford
But he walked tall, head level
Every promise was his word
[Chorus]
Take me back to Grandpa’s America
Where a man was as strong as his name
Where the price on the shelf
Didn’t bleed you dry
And the shame still followed your shame
In Grandpa’s America
We could fight and still be friends
We got tough, not torn in pieces
We would break, then rise again
[Verse 2]
He’d laugh at our short fuses
“Kid, you bruise like painted glass
We took hits, we took jokes
Learned to throw ‘em back and laugh”
Sunday suit, calloused knuckles
Steel toes on a factory floor
He lost sleep, not his backbone
When they cut his overtime short
[Chorus]
Take me back to Grandpa’s America
Where a man was as strong as his name
Where the price on the shelf
Didn’t bleed you dry
And the shame still followed your shame
In Grandpa’s America
We could fight and still be friends
We got tough, not torn in pieces
We would break, then rise again
[Bridge]
Now I’m staring at the headlines
Heard enough to make him swear
He’d say, “Stand up, quit your whining
Grow a spine, learn how to care”
I miss gravel in his wisdom
I miss grit inside his grace
(Yeah)
I miss knowing right was harder
But we chose it anyway
[Chorus]
Take me back to Grandpa’s America
Where a man was as strong as his name
Where the price on the shelf
Didn’t bleed you dry
And the shame still followed your shame
In Grandpa’s America
We could fight and still be friends
We got tough, not torn in pieces
We would break, then rise again
[Outro]
Grandpa’s America
Lives on in my blood and hands
‘Til the day I leave this earth
I’ll chase the country where he stands

metal, 80s metal anthem with soaring male vocals, twin-guitar harmonies, and a driving half-time groove that kicks into double-time on the chorus; big gang shouts on key lines, palm-muted chugs in the verses, then wide-open power chords and high-string hero lines in the hook, with a brief melodic solo section under the bridge, country, strong