Hot Steel Blues

Sun creepin’ up, it’s 6:45,

Boots hit the gravel, I’m barely alive.

Flint in my pocket, helmet in hand,

Clockin’ in sweat before the arc ever lands.

Steel don’t care how the sky’s on fire,

Just another day feedin’ that wire.

The torch lights up like a southern storm,

But this heat? Man, it ain’t the norm.

I’m breathin’ sparks in a hundred degrees,

Drippin’ sweat down to my knees.

Flames in my face, boots in the mud,

Burn marks mixin’ with my blood.

But I ain’t stoppin’, I got bills to prove—

This is life in the weldin’ groove.

Ain’t no shade, just the grind and the truth—

Singin’ these hot steel blues.

Mask drops down, world turns black,

Lightin’ up seams with a hand that won’t crack.

Rod keeps feedin’ like a freight train’s soul,

Each bead laid, another piece of coal.

Back’s gone stiff, shirt’s soaked through,

Skin cooked rare, but the job ain’t new.

Boys talk tough, but the heat talks louder—

You earn your name in that weldin’ powder.

I’m breathin’ sparks in a hundred degrees,

Drippin’ sweat down to my knees.

Flames in my face, boots in the mud,

Burn marks mixin’ with my blood.

But I ain’t quittin’, I got pride to prove—

This is life in the weldin’ groove.

Ain’t no fan, just the fire and the fumes—

Singin’ these hot steel blues.

No AC, no damn break,

Just a lunchbox dream and a back that aches.

But when the job is done, and I take that glance,

I see strength in every welded stance.

I’m breathin’ sparks in a hundred degrees,

Drippin’ soul down to my knees.

Flames in my face, boots in the mud,

Iron and sweat run in my blood.

‘Cause I ain’t built for that office view—

I was made for the fire, it’s true.

So I’ll keep singin’ these hard-earned tunes,

These red-hot, steel-bent,

Hot steel blues. 🎸