[Intro]
Engine coughing in the parking lot
Redline trembling through the hood
You said, “Go faster, maybe you’ll forget”
I said, “I’m gone, but I’m still good”
[Verse 1]
Boots on gravel, knuckles white
Cheap motel buzzing like a warning sign
Everybody wants a piece of the night
Nobody asks what it costs inside
I got a tank full of borrowed nerve
A cracked rearview and a lesson learned
They sell escape by the mile and the turn
But the road takes everything if you let it burn
[Pre-Chorus]
Keep both hands on the wheel
Don’t trade your name for a thrill
The world wants blood from the deal
I’m still here, I’m still real
[Chorus]
Burn rubber, not your soul
Leave the cage, keep control
Tear the silence, break the mold
Don’t let the speed take what you own
Burn rubber, not your soul
Run hard, but don’t lose hold
If the night comes for your gold
Give it smoke, keep your soul
[Verse 2]
Backroad thunder under black pine
Police lights blink in the far-off sky
Friends in the mirror, ghosts in a line
All of us chasing some reason why
I know the shortcut, I know the ditch
I know the voice saying, “One more switch”
I know a crown can feel like a fix
Till the crown gets heavy and the engine quits
[Pre-Chorus]
Keep both hands on the wheel
Don’t trade your name for a thrill
The world wants blood from the deal
I’m still here, I’m still real
[Chorus]
Burn rubber, not your soul
Leave the cage, keep control
Tear the silence, break the mold
Don’t let the speed take what you own
Burn rubber, not your soul
Run hard, but don’t lose hold
If the night comes for your gold
Give it smoke, keep your soul
[Bridge]
No halo on the dashboard
No sermon in the glovebox
Just one breath, then another
And the choice nobody sees
Let the tires scream
Let the old fear peel
Let the whole machine
Find out what I feel
[Final Chorus]
Burn rubber, not your soul
Leave the cage, keep control
Tear the silence, break the mold
Don’t let the speed take what you own
Burn rubber, not your soul
Run hard, but don’t lose hold
When the whole world wants you cold
Give it smoke, keep your soul
[Outro]
Engine cooling by the roadside
Morning leaking through the trees
I got away from where I started
And I brought myself with me