Ride Slow

Intro

tape hiss, urban radio (ah)

low lights on the dash, slow glow (yeah)

skrrt — tires whisper on wet tar, ayy

vhs rewind in my head (rewind)

Verse

rearview full of ghost towns, I pass 'em slow (passin')

cigarette ember on the visor, amber halo (ha)

engine hum like a funeral hymn, got that low tempo (low)

smile gone crooked from the last cameo (ayy)

I move like winter on a street with cold names (cold)

names that taught me how to trade pain for frames (trade)

paperbacks and polaroids, we play that old game (play)

money talks, but midnight whispers my true name (true)

clock hands sliced like vinyl, stutterin' time (stutter)

I collect small sins and sell 'em as design (sell it)

friends turn to landmarks, I drive past 'em all (past)

learned to make a fortress out of broken mall (mall)

phone screen cracked, a map with no return (no)

smoke fills the cabin and the taillights burn (burn)

promise in the rearview, never comin' round (never)

I been racin' paper devils for the lost and found (found)

hearts in my pocket, heavy as a brick (heavy)

countin' out the minutes like a low-lit flick (flick)

voices on the radio sayin' move quick (move)

but I take the long route, edges sharp, slick (slick)

skrrt — corner clipped, neon-free skyline (yeah)

my reflection got a scar that looks like a line (line)

silence plays percussion on the rooftop tin (tin)

nobody owes you mercy when the night digs in (no mercy)

I keep a little ledger of the times I sinned (ledger)

and the dues get paid in miles on the wind (miles)

heh — let the engine pray, let the windows cry (let it)

I'm a silhouette that learned how to multiply (multiply)

Chorus

ride slow, ride slow, let the tape play (ride)

ride slow, ride slow, let the tape play (ride)

ride slow, ride slow, let the tape play (uh)

ride slow, ride slow, let the tape play (yeah)

Verse

streetlamps like punctuation, comma, then a dash (dash)

I write my alibis in neon-smudged ash (no neon) — wait, scratch that

I write my alibis on receipts and match stubs (match)

smoke rings form altars where my old luck rubs (rub)

count the miles like prayers — every exit's a line (line)

every friend that left left me an unfinished rhyme (rhyme)

I keep the engine talkin' louder than regret (louder)

crank the bass till the past forgets to set (skrrt)

cold coffee, warm gloves, a map with blurred folds (folds)

I trade good mornings for late-night codes (codes)

they want the headline, I deliver the margins (margins)

I know how to turn a small sin into an argument (argument)

my tongue got ledgers, my lips got dues (yuh)

I move with a ledger and a different set of rules (rules)

paper cranes in the glovebox, folded from old lies (fold)

I used to follow constellations, now I read taillights (read)

skrrt — alleyways hum like an old drum kit (drum)

I learned the rhythm of the city when it wouldn't quit (won't quit)

pavement mirrors show a fa