[Verse 1]
Packed my life in an old blue Ford,
Every dream I had tossed in the floorboard,
Mama stood there on the porch that day,
Waved me off with tears she tried to hide away.
Said, “Chase that light, don’t you dare look back,”
But her voice cracked under all that slack,
I swore I’d call when I hit the state line,
But I cried too hard to find the time.
[Chorus]
Now I’m halfway outta Bristol, halfway gone,
Tryin’ to make this city feel like home,
But it don’t smell like sweet cut hay,
Don’t sound like the church bells on Sunday.
Every skyline feels too tall, too cold, too loud,
I traded mountains for a concrete crowd,
And I miss those hills that held me proud —
I’m halfway outta Bristol now.
[Verse 2]
There’s a bar downtown where the lights all hum,
But the songs don’t hit like the ones back home.
They don’t play Carter or the Ballad songs,
And no one here knows where they belong.
Sometimes I walk ‘til the moon feels right,
Pretend it’s the same one from those summer nights,
Where we’d park by the lake in your beat-up Jeep,
Talk about forever ‘til we fell asleep.
[Chorus]
Now I’m halfway outta Bristol, halfway free,
But the city’s got a hold on me,
I’m drinkin’ dreams from a paper cup,
Just to feel like I’m growin’ up.
And I miss that road that winds through town,
The way the stars could calm me down,
Feels like I left more than I found —
I’m halfway outta Bristol now.
[Bridge]
The neon signs can’t match that glow,
Of the fireflies down by the river road,
And I’d give it all — the fame, the gold,
Just to hear Dad’s laugh once more, I know.
They said, “The world’s yours, go take your shot,”
But no one said how much it’d cost,
Every mile’s a little more lost,
Every dream’s another thing I’ve lost.
[Verse 3]
The city lights don’t blink the same,
They shine too bright, they don’t know my name,
I’m playin’ bars for a hundred bucks,
Singin’ songs about the place I love.
And when I say “Bristol,” they just nod,
Like it’s some dot that I made up,
But if they saw that sign that splits the state,
They’d know what heaven looks like at the gate.
[Final Chorus – stripped down, aching]
Now I’m halfway outta Bristol, halfway gone,
But my heart still hums that hometown song,
Where the streets run through my memory,
And the people still believe in me.
Maybe one day I’ll find my place,
But till then I’ll just chase that grace,
With one foot here and one still bound —
To that little twin town.
[Outro – soft]
Yeah, I left to make ‘em proud somehow,
But Bristol’s still the best part of me now.
