Working hands

Verse 1
Alarm clock crying at a quarter to five
Coffee’s burnt, but it keeps me alive
Steel-toe boots by the door again
Another long day just to make the rent

Mirror don’t lie, lines in my face
Dust in my lungs, time in its place
Mama said, “Boy, stand tall, don’t bend”
So I shake off the ache and I clock back in

Chorus
These working hands, beat up and scarred
Cracked like the roads, tough as they are
Faded tattoos, names I still know
Promises inked that time let go
I don’t shine, I don’t stand out loud
But I built this life with my head down proud
Yeah, I carry the weight where I stand
On these working hands

Verse 2
Knuckles split from the cold last year
Rust and oil, blood and beer
Every line’s got a story to tell
Of nights I was broke but I made it through hell

That eagle on my arm’s barely there
Sun-bleached dreams and county fair prayers
Some folks laugh, say it’s just skin
But it meant something when I believed back then

Chorus
These working hands, worn and slow
Held my kids when they didn’t know
Shook a boss’s, dug a grave
Fixed what I could, broke what I couldn’t save
I don’t preach, I don’t pretend
I just do my part till the bitter end
Yeah, I carved my name in the land
With these working hands

Bridge
I ain’t rich, but I paid my dues
I know sweat, I know truth
If I leave nothing when I’m gone
Let it be proof I was here all along

Verse 3
Sunset hits like a second shift
Back aches but I still lift
Dirt under nails won’t wash away
It’s part of me now, it’s here to stay

I’ll lay my tools down when I can’t stand
Till then I’ll give it all I am
No spotlight, no master plan
Just a man and his working hands

Final Chorus
These working hands, calloused and real
Know the cost, know the deal
Built the fence, paid the bills
Loved my people the best I could still
When the ground takes me where I land
Let the dirt remember the man
Who left his mark in honest spans
With these working hands

Outro
Yeah… these working hands

acoustic, blue-collar folk song with a rough, honest tone.