Track 1 of the album Wide Sky Lullabies · 2019
Chalk Dust and Second Chances
“Mr. Delaney taught me shop with sawdust in his eyebrows and never once told me I was wasting my time. I opened the record with some swagger for him.”
country · workshop country · confident twang · 4:10
Lyrics
Mr. Delaney taught me shop on the edge of town Sawdust in his eyebrows, a pencil behind his ear I was the kid who skipped and kept my head down Counting out the days till I could disappear He handed me a block of wood and a chisel Said, build me something, anything you like I carved a crooked bird with a broken wing He set it on his desk and said, that's right Chalk dust and second chances He saw something I couldn't see Chalk dust and second chances Said, you're more than you believe Now I stand where I couldn't stand then Head up and steady on my feet Chalk dust and second chances Thank you for the seat He drove me home when the bus had left without me Never asked me why I had a bruise Just said, the door is open every morning Come on in and work out what you'll choose Twenty years of stages and a thousand motel ceilings But I still keep that bird upon the shelf Every time I tune up and the lights come up I whisper thanks and feel like myself Chalk dust and second chances He saw something I couldn't see Chalk dust and second chances Said, you're more than you believe Now I stand where I couldn't stand then Head up and steady on my feet Chalk dust and second chances Thank you for the seat If there's somebody who changed your road Call them, write them, tell them so They may never know the weight they hold Until you say it, and it's told Chalk dust and second chances He saw something I couldn't see Chalk dust and second chances Said, you're more than you believe Now I stand where I couldn't stand then Head up and steady on my feet Chalk dust and second chances Thank you for the seat Thank you for the seat