I Hold the Line

Intro

mm-mm, mm-mm

mm-mm, mm-mm (oh)

Verse

I roll out before the sky remembers how to care

Seatbelt clicks, steel on my chest, cheap coffee, stale air

Sirens like a language I learned before I spoke my name

Every call a little fracture, every calm a little blame

My back remembers stations, my hands remember ache

Knees that grind like engines, lungs that cough at every break

I keep a list of faces taped behind the visor glass

Names that won't let go of me, days that never pass

Pre-chorus

And I'm trying, I'm trying (trying, trying)

To keep the pieces from falling, keep believing

And I'm holding, I'm holding (holding, holding)

But the ledger gets heavier with every evening

Chorus

I hold the line, I hold the line, oh-oh (I hold it)

I hold the line until the morning finds me gone

I hold the line, I hold the line, yeah-yeah (I hold it)

But when the sirens fade, I'm carrying what I can't put down

I hold the line

Verse

There are nights I count the footsteps in the house that used to laugh

I trace the miles on maps of grief, where daylight never has

The radio keeps talking like the past can be contained

But I still wake with bruises from the moments I remain

Colleagues bruise like mirrors, cracked and hard and cold

We trade the jokes and bandage lives, we never tell the whole

My mother says be careful and my daughter says be brave

I tuck them in like talismans and stumble through the grave

Pre-chorus

And I'm fighting, I'm fighting (fighting, fighting)

To keep the armor from rusting, keep the promise living

And I'm leaning, I'm leaning (leaning, leaning)

On the prayer that tomorrow might forgive my misgiving

Chorus

I hold the line, I hold the line, oh-oh (I hold it)

I hold the line until the evening pulls my name

I hold the line, I hold the line, yeah-yeah (I hold it)

But when the lights go down, I'm carrying what can't be changed

I hold the line

Bridge

Is there mercy for the man who cleans the broken glass? (uh-huh)

Is there shelter for the shout that never finds its past? (yeah)

My uniform is heavy, but the weight is never law

It's memory and muscle, it's a small and stubborn war

Oh-oh, oh-oh (oh-oh)

Let me breathe, let me breathe (let me breathe)

Chorus

I hold the line, I hold the line, oh-oh (I hold it)

I hold the line when the cold and the daylight come for me

I hold the line, I hold the line, yeah-yeah (I hold it)

I hold the line till my voice is nothing but a plea

I hold the line

I hold the line, I hold the line, oh-oh (I hold it)

I hold the line though it bends me, though it breaks me slow

I hold the line, I hold the line, yeah-yeah (I hold it)

I hold the line — and one day I hope I learn to let it go