I had fire in my chest, a skyline in my jaw

I swore I’d find the edge where the angels never saw

But the wheels rolled slow, and the truth came late

Every barstool preacher said, “boy, it’s just fate”

I traded strings for sin, and hope for gin

Played a hundred empty rooms where I let the dark in

Now the mirror’s got eyes, and the bottle talks back

Every dream I ever chased went down a crack

Through the stars, through the shine

Ohhh I know that I can climb

Through my life, end of time

Why can’t you wait so long?

Why can’t you wait so long...

Banjo hums like a ghost in the frame

And my hands keep pickin’ at the edges of shame

Thought the road would lift me, but it laid me flat

Every mile I earned just took more than it gave back

And I keep hearin’ her laugh in the tremolo strings

I keep drownin’ in the glow that those late nights bring

The bottle’s got teeth, and it sings my song

Dreams don’t die fast — they just bleed out long

Through the stars, through the shine

Ohhh I know that I can climb

Through my life, end of time

Why can’t you wait so long?

Why can’t you wait so long...

[Bridge] (banjo & slide duel with fuzzed-out drone)

Tried to build a throne from the smoke and flame

But it crumbled in my grip, just a curse with a name

Now I sit with the silence and the rot in my gut

Still reachin’ for heaven with a blade in my cut

Through the stars, through the shine

Ohhh I know that I can climb

Through my life, end of time

Why can’t you wait so long?

Why can’t you wait so long...

Why can’t you wait… so long