Old Dogs Still Run

OLD DOGS STILL RUN

(Dynamic / Folk Country)

Verse 1 (slow, stripped — almost spoken)

Cold grass on a November mornin’

Dog box rattlin’ down the road

Grandaddy’s hands on a double barrel

Breath hangin’ like smoke

Jake cut left through broom sage

Rockie froze in the pines

Sport runnin’ wide through thickets

Like he knew we were runnin’ outta time

(pause)

Every field in every county

Knows their names

Pre-Chorus (tempo starts to move)

Bell tones ringin’ in my chest now

Still hear ‘em when it’s quiet at night

Some things never leave you

They just learn how to hide

Chorus (open, big, repeatable — TikTok friendly)

Yeah the bloodline ain’t just blood and bones

Or names carved into stone

It’s muddy paws and torn-up ground

And hearts that won’t let go

If heaven’s got backroads and open runs

And fields with no end

I swear my old dogs still runnin’

Yeah my old dogs still runnin’

(cut instruments last line — vocals only)

Still runnin’.

⸻

Verse 2 (mid-tempo, story groove)

Buck was black and built like thunder

Lab eyes steady and true

I was barely old enough to carry

Half the weight of what I knew

Trained her on a teal-wing mornin’

Cold water, breakin’ ice

She brought back more than feathers

She brought me through that life

Pre-Chorus (lighter, space)

She never missed a signal

Never left my side

Some love don’t need language

It just stays alive

Chorus (full band back in)

Yeah the bloodline ain’t just blood and bones

Or names carved into stone

It’s loyalty without a question

When the world feels cold

If heaven’s got backroads and open runs

And skies that don’t end

I swear my old dogs still runnin’

Yeah my old dogs still runnin’

⸻

Verse 3 (tempo up — driving rhythm)

Wrangler was a border collie

Built outta dirt and will

Ridin’ horses, rangers, four-wheel drives

Never learned to sit still

Worked cattle till he got trampled

Shook it off, went back again

Rode the bed of my Dodge Cummins

From Tennessee to Texas wind

Sale barns, midnight highways

Wind burn in his eyes

If work’s a way to earn your heaven

That dog paid his price

⸻

Verse 4 (slow back down — intimate)

Cowboy was a blue heeler

Smaller heart, bigger soul

Same blood, different rhythm

Knew when to take it slow

Watched the world from the porch light

While the others ran the land

Taught me rest ain’t weakness

Sometimes it’s understandin’

⸻

Bridge (VOCALS ONLY —

They get gray just like we do

Still waggin’ like they’re young

Still runnin’ fields inside their heads

Even when their legs are done

If love’s what gets you through the gate

Then I already know

A few old dogs will meet me

On that long dirt road

(hold silence)

FINAL CHORUS (BIGGEST — crowd-sing energy)

Yeah the bloodline ain’t just blood and bones

Or stories handed down

It’s every soul that stayed beside you

When life wore you down

If heaven’s got backroads and open runs

And peace I ain’t found yet

I know my old dogs still runnin’

Yeah my old dogs still runnin’

(band drops out)

Outro (soft, last line only)

Still runnin