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
WeatheredOakStudios
