Stronger Than Any Venom

[Verse 1]
Hands don’t grip like they used to
But they still remember names
Of every pill, every poison
Doctor swore would end my days
Watched friends fade like old Polaroids
Watched hair turn winter gray
You’d think I’d be scared of the dark
But I outlived every grave
[Chorus]
I’m stronger than any venom
Stronger than any disease
Got scars like crooked scripture
Written all over me
If hurt comes callin’ tomorrow
I’ll just lean back in my seat
I’m stronger than any venom
That ever sank its teeth in me
[Verse 2]
She left in a borrowed sedan
Didn’t even kill the light
Just a tailpipe coughin’ goodbye
On a worn-out Tuesday night
Heart cracked like old barn timber
Thought that was the end of me
But the sun still climbed that morning
Guess it rose out of sheer belief
[Chorus]
I’m stronger than any venom
Stronger than any disease
Got scars like crooked scripture
Written all over me
If hurt comes callin’ tomorrow
I’ll just lean back in my seat
I’m stronger than any venom
That ever sank its teeth in me
[Bridge]
I’ve been the one left standin’
In rooms that feel too small
Every cough, every tremor
Thought, “This one takes it all”
But I keep wakin’ to coffee
To one more ordinary day
If the end wants to find me
It’s gonna have to lose its way
[Chorus]
I’m stronger than any venom
Stronger than any disease
Got scars like crooked scripture
Written all over me
If hurt comes callin’ tomorrow
Pull up a chair, have a seat
I’m stronger than any venom
That ever sank its teeth in me
Yeah, I’m stronger than any venom
Till there’s nothin’ left of me

country, Dusty slow-burn country ballad, male vocals, late-night tempo. Close-mic’d trembling baritone over stark fingerpicked electric guitar, subtle spring reverb. Verses stay hushed and intimate; chorus widens with low pedal-steel swells and soft upright bass. Occasional distant organ pads bloom on key phrases, then fall away to leave the vocal exposed, every crack and breath front and center., deep, ballad, slow, vocal