[Verse 1]
Old boy from Vancouver
Built for speed and turning left
Sixteen on the door
Crowd rising with every stretch
But this ain’t about a checkered flag
Or the trophies on your shelf
It’s how you showed up in a storm
Thinking of everybody else
[Chorus]
Number 16
You ran hard
You ran clean
From the back roads to big dreams
You were more than gasoline
Number 16
Through the water and the wind
You were there again and again
Now the sky’s your final track
Number 16
You ain’t coming back
But you’re still out front to me
[Verse 2]
Helene came roaring inland
Tore the rooftops
Broke the lines
You and Cletus hit the throttle
Hauling strangers through the pines
Truck bed full of soaked-up hearts
Dogs and babies
Shaking hands
You just said
“Hop in
We’ll make it”
Then you went and proved you can
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
One last takeoff
Blue October
Runway lights like pit road shine
Thought you’d land and tell more stories
Laugh about that crooked sign
Now there’s flowers on the grandstand
Sixteen hats held to the chest
We salute you at the restart
’Cause you always gave your best
[Chorus]