Pine Knot to the Cross

“Pine Knot to the Cross”
(Jelly Roll style – short & raw)
[Intro – half-spoken]
Yeah… Pine Knot, Kentucky… red-dirt sinner… let’s ride.
[Verse 1]
Came up barefoot in McCreary County, ghost lights dancin’ on the ridge,
Blonde Ohio girl singin’ “Peanuts on a Cloud,” stole my 8th-grade heart behind the bridge.
Red-headed Sarah cuttin’ water like an ’80s rocker, Hallie-Grace laughin’ loud and fast,
Alex grindin’ since middle school, now he’s SEC and I’m still stuck in the past.
Coach yellin’ at swim practice, poor as hell but rich in trouble and dreams,
Back-road preachin’ in tongues when the bottle got louder than the hymns.
[Chorus]
I’m a Pine Knot sinner with a Bible in the dash,
Raised on dirt roads, white-trash cash,
Fell in love with a Georgia mountain nympho, brown eyes and a white truck,
She left me speakin’ in tongues on a highway headed straight to dust.
Whiskey don’t burn like Phaedra, no sir,
But grace still finds a wretch out here on these curves,
Been broke, been blessed, baptized in the mess—
From Pine Knot to the cross, that’s me, I guess.
[Verse 2]
Coached kids through chlorine and tears, watched ’em grow wings and leave,
Still hear Dr. Vanover laughin’ when that Ohio girl hit them high notes in history.
Wrote songs for Shedra on a mandolin, turned heartbreak into fire,
Blake, Kenny, Brooks & Dunn in my veins, Tim McGraw on the radio wire.
Chased blondes with brown eyes and demons with brown liquor,
Woke up in ditches prayin’ harder than a convicted killer.
[Chorus]
I’m a Pine Knot sinner with a Bible in the dash,
Raised on dirt roads, white-trash cash,
Fell in love with a Georgia mountain nympho, brown eyes and a white truck,
She left me speakin’ in tongues on a highway headed straight to dust.
Whiskey don’t burn like Phaedra, no sir,
But grace still finds a wretch out here on these curves,
Been broke, been blessed, baptized in the mess—
From Pine Knot to the cross, that’s me, I guess.
[Bridge – slow & spoken]
Still call her Jellybean when the night gets cold,
Still see Sarah cuttin’ water, still hear Hallie laugh, still proud of Alex, man…
Devil keeps knockin’, but the cross keeps talkin’ louder.
[Final Chorus – belt it]
Thank God for the mud, thank God for the cross,
Whiskey don’t burn like Phaedra, but Jesus burns brighter than them all,
Take me home, Lord… from Pine Knot to the cross.
[Outro]
1987 never left me… this one’s for Jellybean.
Let’s go.
(2,312 characters – fits easy)

Jelly Roll Country style