GRAVEL-ROAD GRID [Intro — Acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Subtle Synth] FEMALE (softly): You still know the way home? MALE: Even when the signal's gone. [Verse 1 — Male Lead] Got a blue dot dancing on a cracked-screen phone, Says I'm five minutes out from the place I call home. There's a drone overhead where the hayfields used to be, And a fiber-optic line running past Grandpa's trees. I've got passwords for my money, got a cloud full of years, Got a voice in my dashboard telling me where to steer. But I still take the back road when the sunset turns gold, 'Cause a satellite can't tell me what my heart already knows. [Verse 2 — Female Lead] Mama's got a video call from a grandson out west, Daddy's old tractor's got a GPS in its chest. There's a smart-home light shining where the porch light shone, And an app for every little thing we used to do on our own. But I still smell the rain on that red Iowa clay, Hear the screen door slamming at the end of a day. You can put the whole wide world in the palm of my hand, But I'll never trade my roots for a signal and a plan. [Pre-Chorus — Duet, Harmonies Building] MALE: We've got one foot in tomorrow— FEMALE: One heel stuck in yesterday— MALE: Every road is getting smarter— FEMALE: But some things don't change— BOTH: And that's the reason we keep driving Down the roads that made us who we are! [Chorus — Full Band, Fiddle Soaring] BOTH: Yeah, I'm running on a map that the satellites drew, But my heart's still tracking down the old avenue! Got the fiddle crying out through the dust in the air, And the banjo rolling heavy like a midnight prayer. They can pave over the tracks, they can digitize the town, But they can't wash the clay from a boots-on-the-ground! Yeah, this rhythm in my chest is an old-school code, Living life on the gravel-road grid! FEMALE (ad-lib): Oh, take me back! MALE: Where the real roads run! BOTH: Living life on the gravel-road grid! [Instrumental — Banjo Gallop, Fiddle Lead] [Verse 3 — Trading Vocals] MALE: I've got an AI telling me what the weather's gonna do— FEMALE: But the old folks read the clouds and they still get it true. MALE: I've got a thousand online friends scattered everywhere— FEMALE: But the neighbors show up first when there's trouble to repair. MALE: We're connected to the world through a million miles of wire— FEMALE: Still passing down the stories by a backyard fire. BOTH: We can learn a hundred new ways to live, But we won't forget the things this old dirt road gives. [Pre-Chorus — Bigger Harmonies] MALE: We've got one foot in tomorrow— FEMALE: One heel stuck in yesterday— BOTH: Let the whole world keep on changing, We've got roots that won't wash away! [Chorus — Full Band] Yeah, I'm running on a map that the satellites drew, But my heart's still tracking down the old avenue! Got the fiddle crying out through the dust in the air, And the banjo rolling heavy like a midnight prayer. They can pave over the tracks, they can digitize the town, But they can't wash the clay from a boots-on-the-ground! Yeah, this rhythm in my chest is an old-school code, Living life on the gravel-road grid! [Bridge — Stripped Acoustic Guitar, Emotional Duet] FEMALE: Someday these old roads might be gone— MALE: And the fields might turn to stone— FEMALE: But the child I was still lives inside— MALE: And still knows the way back home. BOTH — BUILDING: You can change the signs, You can change the times, You can put the whole world in our hands. But you can't rewrite The roots inside, Or the dust that made us who we am— BOTH: Who we are! [Final Chorus — Massive Anthem, Fiddle and Banjo] Yeah, we're running on a map that the satellites drew, But our hearts keep tracking down the old avenue! Hear the fiddle crying out, let it ring through the air, Let the banjo roll like a midnight prayer! They can pave over the tracks, they can digitize the town, But they can't wash the clay from a boots-on-the-ground! Yeah, this rhythm in our chest is an old-school code, Living life on the gravel-road grid! MALE: From the first tire track— FEMALE: To the stars up high— BOTH: We've got dirt-road roots and a digital sky! ALL VOCALS: Living life on the gravel-road grid! Living life on the gravel-road grid! [Outro — Banjo, Fiddle, Acoustic Guitar] FEMALE (softly): You still know the way home? MALE: Baby, I never lost it. BOTH: Gravel-road grid... Where the heart stays rooted.
