First Responder to the Crash

(Verse 1)

The coffee’s black, the boots are laced by 5 A.M.

Got two hundred thousand miles on this set of rims

I’m the guy you call if life throws a wrench

I’m the guy who shows up when you’re at your worst

years walking into the heat

years hauling loads down the street

I tell a joke, I slap a back, I pay the bill

I’m the jack of all trades, with an iron will.

(Chorus)

Yeah, the engine runs smooth and the paint looks shine

But nobody checks what’s crossing the line

I’m functioning fine, I’m playing the part

While a quiet war is dismantling my heart

I save the day, I clear the lane, I stop the bleeding

But nobody asks what the savior is needing

Yeah, I’m the first responder to everyone’s crash

But I’m standing alone in my own pile of ash.

(Verse 2)

They see the dad who fights for his kin

Who takes the loss on the chin and just starts again

Driving three hundred miles just to see a face

Running a marathon at a sprinter’s pace

But they don’t see the drive when the radio dies

When the ghosts of the past start to fill up my eyes

Thinking of my angels in my arms as they drift off to heaven as the sirens screams as I was first to arrive not knowing who was inside

And how life never was the same

(Chorus)

Yeah, the engine runs smooth and the paint looks shine

But nobody checks what’s crossing the line

I’m functioning fine, I’m playing the part

While a quiet war is dismantling my heart

I save the day, I clear the lane, I stop the bleeding

But nobody asks what the savior is needing

Yeah, I’m the first responder to everyone’s crash

But I’m standing alone in my own pile of ash.

(Bridge)

(Tempo slows down, music gets quieter—just a single guitar picking)

Now the sun goes down and the house gets dark

And the silence bites harder than a frantic bark

I stare at the ceiling, in a room full of dread

Weighing the reasons to get out of this bed

The world thinks I’m solid, a rock in the stream

But I’m just a man holding on to a seam.

(Guitar Solo - Bluesy and melancholic)

(Outro)

But the alarm’s gonna ring.

Yeah, the alarm’s gonna ring.

So I’ll lock up the demons and survive the night.

I’m not okay... but I’ll go.

I’m not okay... but they’ll never know.

(Fade out on a final, ringing chord)