Line of Fire

[Verse 1]
Boots by the door
Kiss on the forehead
Coffee gone cold on the counter
Radio crackles
Says it’s time
Traffic lights fade in the rearview
Streets know your first name
Not your fears
You joke in the car to kill the quiet
But your hands still tremble on the wheel
[Chorus]
You live in the line of fire
Never sure you’re coming back home
Every call could be the last chapter
Every shift is the danger zone
You see things nobody should ever
Carry weight that cuts to the bone
You stand there
Heart on your badge
Holding the line
Holding alone
[Verse 2]
Blue tape
Blue lights
Blue sunrise
You’ve held a stranger’s last breath in your palms
Told a mother that her world is over
Then drove away in the dark
Headlights off inside
You’ve walked into rooms that smell of grief
Names you remember
Faces you can’t forget
You wash your hands
But it stays on your skin
You smile at your kids
But you’re still there
[Chorus]
You live in the line of fire
Never sure you’re coming back home
Every call could be the last chapter
Every shift is the danger zone
You see things nobody should ever
Carry weight that cuts to the bone
You stand there
Heart on your badge
Holding the line
Holding alone
[Bridge]
They see the uniform
You feel the bruises
They see the siren
You hear the screams
You strap on courage like second skin
But underneath
You’re still human
[Chorus]
You live in the line of fire
Never sure you’re coming back home
Every call could be the last chapter
Every shift is the danger zone
You see things nobody should ever
Carry weight that cuts to the bone
So here’s to the ones who go anyway
So the rest of us make it home

Spare piano and distant pads, male spoken word vocal front and dry, close-mic’d. Sub-bass swells under the heaviest lines, soft cinematic strings easing in on the second pass of the hook. Gradual build in intensity, then drop to almost silence for the final lines, breaths and room tone left in the mix., emotional, spoken word, tribute