Dust on My Strings

(A lonely slide guitar cries, then a steady stomp kicks in)

Verse 1

Sunrise bleeding over County Line Road

Coffee in a cracked mug, radio low

Six strings humming like an old pickup truck

Every scar on this guitar’s been earned by luck

Gravel popping under worn-out boots

Life ain’t pretty, but it tells the truth

I learned my prayers from a Fender’s bend

And how to lose, and still play again

Pre-Chorus

These frets know stories I never say

Every note’s a mile I drove away

Chorus

I got dust on my strings and fire in my hands

A heart that still breaks to a three-chord plan

When the night falls hard and the world feels wrong

I turn it all into a long, loud song

Yeah, the road knows my name, the pain still stings

But I’m free when I bleed through my six steel strings

(Bright, catchy riff answering the vocal melody)

Verse 2

Neon buzzing at the edge of town

Cheap beer halos spinning me around

She said, “Boy, you’ll never slow down”

I said, “Girl, that’s the only way I’ve found”

Telecaster barking through the bar

Bends so sweet they hit you where you are

Every cheer, every ghost I outrun

Lives in the echo when the solo comes

Pre-Chorus

If love’s a gamble, I’ll ante pain

Bet my soul on a runaway train

Chorus

I got dust on my strings and fire in my hands

A heart that still breaks to a three-chord plan

When the night falls hard and the world feels wrong

I turn it all into a long, loud song

Yeah, the road knows my name, the pain still stings

But I’m free when I bleed through my six steel strings

Mama said, “Son, don’t chase the sound”

But the sound’s the only thing that never let me down

So turn it up, let it cry, let it scream

Let that guitar say what I mean

(Starts melodic, bends crying high, then fast southern licks, ending in a sustained note)

Final Chorus

I got dust on my strings, yeah, scars on my soul

Every note I play makes me whole

If I go down broke, I’ll go down strong

With a midnight crowd singing along

Yeah, the road knows my name, the pain still stings

But heaven lives in these six steel strings

Outro – Acoustic + Slide

(Stripped back, one last slide lick fading out)

Dust on my strings…

That’s where I belong.