Hollow Road, Little Hand

[Verse 1]
You came in quiet
Tiny fist around my thumb
Doctor’s lips were moving
All I heard was a distant drum
Folks brought casseroles
Spoke in cotton, watched their words
Drove home past the graveyard
Tasted iron, lost for words
[Chorus]
I walk this hollow road, little hand in mine
World keeps talkin’ fast
You move in your own time
They stare like they know somethin’
But they don’t understand
I’d burn this whole town to black
To protect that little hand
[Verse 2]
Sunday school whispers
Teacher sayin’ “we can try”
Your eyes on the ceiling fan
Laughin’ at the sky
There’s teeth marks in the drywall
From another long night’s storm
My jaw’s cracked from clenchin’
Still I keep you warm
[Chorus]
I walk this hollow road, little hand in mine
World keeps talkin’ fast
You move in your own time
They hand me folded pamphlets
Like they’ve got some master plan
I’d tear their pages to shreds
To protect that little hand
[Bridge]
Some days I’m a good man
Some days I curse that star
That hung you such a heavy moon
And left us where we are
But when you press your cheek
Right against my chest
All my prayers turn crooked
But I mean ‘em nonetheless (oh I mean ‘em)
[Chorus]
We walk this hollow road, little hand in mine
Future like a thunderhead
Stretchin’ down the power lines
Let ‘em point, let ‘em whisper
Let the righteous take their stand
I’ll walk through fire and ash
To protect that little hand
[Outro]
Porch light flickers
Crickets hum a broken band
You fall asleep mid-laugh
Haloed in my calloused hand

country, Dusty outlaw-country ballad, male vocals. Slow swung shuffle with brushed kit, weary upright bass, and twangy baritone guitar. Verses stay hushed and close-mic'd; chorus swells with pedal steel cries and low harmony. Subtle organ pad sneaks in on the bridge, building to a cracked, cathartic final chorus that falls back to near-whisper on the last line.