Grease on My Hands

Verse 1

There’s a Chevy up on cinder blocks behind my daddy’s barn

Wrench marks on the workbench, rust stains on my arms

Small town Friday nights, bonfire smoke and beer

Thought I had my whole life planned till she disappeared

She said, “Boy, you’re good-hearted, but you’re standing still”

Left a letter on the counter by the unpaid bills

Now her picture’s face down in a dresser drawer

And I ain’t the same kid I was before

Chorus

So I traded grease on my hands for salt out on the sea

Took a long hard look at what this town made of me

Twenty-two and busted up, trying not to drown

Signed my name in black ink just to turn this thing around

Now there’s dog tags hanging where her necklace used to lay

And every mile from home hurts a little less each day

I don’t know where I’m headed, but I know I had to leave

Yeah, a country mechanic boy joined the Navy just to breathe

Verse 2

Mama cried at breakfast, said she hated letting go

Daddy shook my hand like he already knew I’d go

Said, “Son, life’ll break your heart before it lets you grow

But pain’ll either chain you down or teach you what you know”

Now I’m running drills at sunrise, steel deck under boots

Learning how to stand again instead of chasing truth

Funny how the ocean makes a man feel small

But somehow makes him stronger through it all

Chorus

So I traded grease on my hands for salt out on the sea

Took a long hard look at what this town made of me

Twenty-two and busted up, trying not to drown

Signed my name in black ink just to turn this thing around

Now there’s dog tags hanging where her necklace used to lay

And every mile from home hurts a little less each day

I don’t know where I’m headed, but I know I had to leave

Yeah, a country mechanic boy joined the Navy just to breathe

Bridge

Maybe one day I’ll come back with some miles on my soul

A little less broken, a little more whole

Maybe I’ll thank her for leaving when she did

‘Cause boys don’t stay boys after life caves in

Final Chorus

Yeah, I traded grease on my hands for salt out on the sea

Found out running forward ain’t the same as running free

Twenty-two ain’t old enough to know how life will go

But it’s young enough to start again and strong enough to grow

Now the waves keep rolling like the ache inside my chest

But every day in uniform I feel a little less

Like the lost boy she left standing in her dust back then

Yeah, that country mechanic boy’s becoming a man again