Hang On Like This

[Intro]
[Violin sings low
Then climbs]
[One bright guitar note hangs in the air]
[Verse 1]
Coffee gone cold
Sun not quite up
Shirt on the chair
Boots by the truck
List on the table
I’ll never outrun
But I lace these laces
And I take step one
[Chorus]
So I hang on like this
One breath
One brick
If my hands both shake
I still drive that stick
Might bend
Might break
But I don’t stay down
I was born for the long road
Not the crown
[Verse 2]
Phone full of voices
I don’t call back
Bills in a pile
On the counter stack
But there’s work in my chest
Quiet and rough
I show up to the day
Even when it’s enough
[Chorus]
So I hang on like this
One breath
One brick
If my hands both shake
I still drive that stick
Might bend
Might break
But I don’t stay down
I was born for the long road
Not the crown
[Bridge]
I don’t ask for mercy
Just a little more try (oh, just a little)
You can keep your promise
I’ll keep getting by
[Chorus]
Yeah
I hang on like this
One breath
One brick
If my voice runs low
My heart still ticks
Might bend
Might break
But I won’t stay down
I was born for the long road
I’m the long road now

Slow-burn country-rock ballad with male vocals; cinematic fiddle intro that swells into a single, sustained high guitar harmonic before the band eases in. Dusty drums and warm bass move lazily under picked acoustic, with electric guitar answering the vocal in short phrases. Intimate, almost spoken delivery in the verses; chorus opens into gravelly held notes and stacked harmonies on key phrases. Mix leans into room reverb and chesty low tones for a Leonard Cohen-style presence., strong, violin, deep