[Intro]

[Instrumental]

[Verse 1]

[Steady groove, vocal half-spoken over the bounce]

[E E C#m7 C#m7]

Screen door creakin’ on this old back porch swing

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

January wind cuttin’ through the smoke from my cigarette ring

[E E C#m7 C#m7]

Clock on the kitchen wall tickin’ louder than it ought

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

Winters stacked like cordwood, more than I ever thought [E E C#m7 C#m7]

Half-read paperback open on the rail by my hand

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

Pages gone yellow like promises lost in the sand

[E E C#m7 C#m7]

Polaroid in my pocket, edges soft from the years

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

Two kids smilin’ back, like they never knew tears [Chorus]

[Full band kicks in, drums open up, harmony stack]

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Nothing really matters when the night gets thin

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Just the glow of this ember and the taste of this bourbon

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Time keeps slippin’ like water through a rusted-out sieve

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

But the stars don’t rush, and for now neither will I… least not tonight [Short electric guitar lick over these chords]

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

[Verse 2]

[Add fiddle answering phrases]

[E E C#m7 C#m7]

Old Vince Gill song driftin’ faint from the barn

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

“Whenever You Come Around” – still knows where to find my heart

[E E C#m7 C#m7]

Funny how the young voice in me answers when it calls

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

Like he’s waitin’ on a highway that don’t run here at all [E E C#m7 C#m7]

Ashes tumble quiet on the sleeve of this shirt

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

I watch ’em fade to gray, don’t even feel the hurt

[E E C#m7 C#m7]

Dog barking somewhere, across this frozen ground

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

Echo rollin’ lonely, then dyin’ without a sound [Chorus]

[Bigger, add high harmony]

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Nothing really matters when the bottle runs low

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Just the hush in the house and the moonlight on the snow

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

All those roads I sketched in dust on some dashboard glow

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

They’re just shadows now, soft and slow… maybe that’s alright this time

[Bridge]

[Drop to half-time feel for 4 bars, then build back]

[Aadd9 E/G# F#m7 Bsus4 B]

If morning finds its way here, I reckon I’ll still be

[Aadd9 E/G# F#m7 Bsus4 B]

Same chair, same smoke, same quiet company

[Aadd9 E/G# F#m7 Bsus4 B]

Might turn another page, or might just let it be

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Either way the wind will whisper through the trees [Final Chorus]

[Double-time fiddle fill, band wide open]

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Nothing really matters when the sky goes wide and deep

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Just this slow breath risin’ and the heart’s steady beat

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Whatever I was chasin’ slipped clean out of reach

[Aadd9 E/G# F#m7 Bsus4 B]

But the pines keep swayin’ soft in the breeze… feels almost like peace

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

No, nothing really matters

[Aadd9 Aadd9 Bsus4 B E]

And somehow… that don’t feel like defeat

[Outro]

[Repeat chorus tag with ad-libs, fade on groove]

[E C#m7 Aadd9 Bsus4 B]

Nothing really matters…

But this moment… almost does.

[Fade out]