Verse 1
Leather's split across my knuckles, knuckles white against the reins
Forty years of dust and shadow running through these heavy veins
This old mare can feel the autumn shivering inside her chest
We both know the sun is dipping low into the fading west
One last time to cinch the cinch tight, one last time to test the leather
Before the winter locks the gate and seals us in this bitter weather
Chorus
But we’re gonna ride like the thunder’s rolling right behind
Gonna outrun the clock that’s ticking in my mind
The joints might ache, the eyes are growing dim
But we’ll push this mountain right up to the brim
If this is the final mile before the fire burns down to black
We’re going out in a blaze of glory, and we ain't looking back
Verse 2
The boys down at the feed lot say a man should know his place
Say the rocking chair is waiting, say I oughta slow the pace
But they don’t know the lightning that’s buried in this dirt
They don’t know the freedom that can wash away the hurt
So I’m kicking up the gravel, letting the engine of her heart roar
Showing this valley what a cowboy is damn well living for
Chorus
And we’re gonna ride like the thunder’s rolling right behind
Gonna outrun the clock that’s ticking in my mind
The joints might ache, the eyes are growing dim
But we’ll push this mountain right up to the brim
If this is the final mile before the fire burns down to black
We’re going out in a blaze of glory, and we ain't looking back
Bridge
It ain't the years that break you, it's the letting go of the reins
It's the quiet in the bedroom that brings the heaviest pains
So let the guitars scream out loud against the dying light
We’re giving Father Time a hell of a fight tonight
Guitar Solo
(Slow, weeping slide guitar that suddenly explodes into a fierce, distorted, soaring Southern-rock solo, full of heavy emotion and defiance)
Chorus
Yeah, we’re gonna ride like the thunder’s rolling right behind
Gonna outrun the clock that’s ticking in my mind
The joints might ache, the eyes are growing dim
But we’ll push this mountain right up to the brim
If this is the final mile before the fire burns down to black
We’re going out in a blaze of glory, and we ain't looking back
Outro
No, we ain't looking back
Just the horse and the highway
One last sunset
Let the engine fade
Let the dust settle down
(Fades out slowly on a single acoustic strum and a sustained, feedback-heavy electric guitar note)