The one under the hat (Gulf Coast Cowboy)

[INTRO]
(Harmonica intro — happy, upbeat, key of C)

[VERSE 1]
Kick the dust off your boots at the edge of the creek
Bring your heavy heart or the secrets you keep
Come through the front or slide in from the side
There’s shelter here with nowhere to hide
The sun might be scorching, the rain falling slow
Just arrive as you are with nowhere to go

[VERSE 2]
Lead your tired horse to the shade of the barn
Set down the weight of every tall yarn
Line up the rigs in the tall grass out back
Chrome still shining on the gravel track
The door’s unbolted, the welcome is wide
Leave the madness of the highway outside

[CHORUS]
Pour a tall glass of amber for the souls on the mend
Where the horizon bends like a long-lost friend
But leave the bottle alone for the one under the hat
The Gulf Coast Cowboy don’t gamble like that
He stays in the clear while the world spins blurred
Finding peace in a single unspoken word

[BRIDGE]
A heavy white haze drifts up from the porch
Lighting the dusk like a slow-burning torch
It curls through the rafters and clings to the beams
Softening edges into half-lit dreams
The air is a blanket that smothers the noise
Of a thousand lost days and the ghosts of the boys

[VERSE 3]
Inhale the quiet where the salt meets the pine
Forget the deadlines and the bottom line
The pressure dissolves in a cloud of thick gray
Watching the struggle just wither away
There’s no clock ticking on the cedar wall
Only grace in the lengthening fall

[PRE-CHORUS]
The glasses are sweating, the spirits are high
Under the reach of a violet sky
One man stays steady while the others let go
Finding the rhythm in the steady and slow

[CHORUS]
Pour a tall glass of amber for the souls on the mend
Where the horizon bends like a long-lost friend
But leave the bottle alone for the one under the hat
The Gulf Coast Cowboy don’t gamble like that
He stays in the clear while the world spins blurred
Finding peace in a single unspoken word

[OUTRO]
(Harmonica ride-out, porch noise, night insects)

Outlaw Americana, Gulf Coast folk, warm harmonica, slow porch groove, restrained bass, reflective, cinematic calm