“NO SHINE” — Gulf Coast Cowboy (96 BPM)
[Intro | spoken, laid-back]
Gulf Coast Cowboy, slow it down…
Shipyard blues, day or night, same fight.
Let’s ride.
[Verse 1 | 16 bars | 96 BPM groove]
Sun creeps up, coffee black as tar,
steel-toe boots and a morning scar.
Badge at the gate, hard hat low,
boss talks big but he don’t know this row.
Welders light sparks in the Gulf Coast dawn,
painters cough fumes but they keep pushin’ on.
Crane arm creaks like an old bayou hymn,
diesel in the air, salt on the skin.
They print “safety” on a poster sheet,
but the real damn world is the dockyard heat.
They count their coins in a soft-seat tower,
we bleed out sweat, that’s real work power.
[Pre-Chorus | 8 bars]
Day crew grind, night crew drag,
same damn fight with a different flag.
They talk “family” then cut that rope,
raise the rules, cut the pay, call it “hope.”
[Chorus | 8 bars | country-rap drawl]
Ain’t no shine on a hard hat brim,
just sweat and grit while the lights go dim.
Day shift, night shift—same old strain,
they take the gold… we take the pain.
They talk big from a soft-ass seat,
we earn our keep in the rust and heat.
Same dock, same war, same old blame—
we keep the scars… they keep the change.
[Verse 2 | 16 bars]
Safety sign hangin’ like a goddamn joke,
“Be aware” while the whole crew broke.
New rule Monday, new fee Friday,
new tax bite got my check lookin’ sideways.
They cut OT then ask for more,
like I got extra hours hidden in a drawer.
Meetin’ room hero with a clean-ass tie,
never broke a damn sweat but he judge my life.
[Bridge | 8 bars]
Hammers tap in a code we know,
hold that line, don’t fold that soul.
Seen good men turn gray and worn,
still show up ‘cause them bills ain’t gone.
Miss me with that “be grateful” line—
I built this dock, there ain’t no shine.
[Chorus | 8 bars]
Ain’t no shine on a hard hat brim,
just sweat and grit while the lights go dim.
Day shift, night shift—same old strain,
they take the gold… we take the pain.
They talk big from a soft-ass seat,
we earn our keep in the rust and heat.
Same dock, same war, same old blame—
we keep the scars… they keep the change.
[Outro | spoken]
You want the ship done? Pay the hands.
Respect the backs.
Gulf Coast Cowboy.
GulfCoastCowboy
