Black Hills In My Blood

[Verse 1]
Two-lane ribbon through the prairie
Gravel dust in the rearview glass
Hand out riding on the wind
Watching fence posts flicker past
Wall Drug signs like old religion
Coffee cooling in a chipped-up cup
You said
"Wait till you see those hills"
Like the earth was opening up
[Chorus]
South Dakota in my veins
Black Hills in my blood
Granite faces watching over us
Older than every flood
If I get lost in all my days
And I forget what I’ve become
Point me west of the river
Where the Black Hills call me home
[Verse 2]
Pine smoke sneaks through the campground
Coyotes start their evening choir
Red dirt on my broken sneakers
Little sparks from the fire
We carved hearts into deadfall branches
Let the Milky Way spill down
Said a prayer for the bison herds
For every boom-and-bust gold town
[Chorus]
South Dakota in my veins
Black Hills in my blood
Granite faces watching over us
Older than every flood
If I get lost in all my days
And I forget what I’ve become
Point me west of the river
Where the Black Hills call me home
[Bridge]
Snow in May
Then August thunder
This land shrugs and carries on
Ghosts of miners
Lakota stories
Riding with us till the dawn (ohh)
[Chorus]
South Dakota in my veins
Black Hills in my blood
Granite faces watching over us
Weathered
But they never budge
If I drift far from who I am
And I forget where I belong
Point me west of the river
Where the Black Hills sing me home

Warm folk-country ballad, midtempo brushed drums and upright bass. Strummed acoustic guitars with a gentle mandolin line, male vocals up close and intimate. Choruses bloom with soft three-part harmonies and a subtle pedal steel swell. Dynamic arc from quiet first verse to fuller final chorus, leaving plenty of air around the lead.