Mouthguard and Mic (version 2)

Verse

Mouthguard and mic, same old routine

Screws the bar in tight so it don't slip loose like a promise I couldn't keep

Dust on the rafters where my grandfather's voice used to live

He was scared of silence louder than the whole arena now

Told me once you got this far you just ride it, don't look down

I'm the king of the underseat stash, mic on a chair leg, tape holding it together like a Band-Aid on a bruise I won't forget

Nobody knows how many times I bled my mouth to get to here

Blood on the turnbuckle, still got the scar like a medal for being brave enough to lose

Pre-Chorus

Now the ring is quiet and it's just me and the hum of the lights

Say it one more time before you let go, say it one more time

Chorus

Mouthguard and mic, still holding on

Even when the crowd goes home, I'm still singing this song

Every drop that fell was worth the taste

So hold the breath, don't let it waste

Say my name, once for now, twice for forever

Verse 2

Bought a gym bag full of cassette tapes he left behind

Tapes with static and a name I never found

I tape the mic to the same spot where his voice still lives

Every note that cracks is a scar, every falsetto's just him teaching me how to breathe

Coach said quit, said it ain't the kind of money this town ever made

Said the kid who speaks in Spanish will be the one who made it out okay

I spoke in English anyway and I never looked back

Now I'm on his old stool, same old ring, same four corners of a life that he wrote in blood

Pre-Chorus

Now the ring is quiet and it's just me and the hum of the lights

Say it one more time before you let go, say it one more time

Chorus

Mouthguard and mic, still holding on

Even when the crowd goes home, I'm still singing this song

Every drop that fell was worth the taste

So hold the breath, don't let it waste

Say my name, once for now, twice for forever

Bridge

I ain't rich yet but I got something he left behind

Not gold or a trophy, just a voice that won't quit when nobody's listening in

So I sing it softer than the crowd ever heard it

Just loud enough so I know it's still there underneath the dirt and the hurt

Chorus

Mouthguard and mic, still holding on

Even when the crowd goes home, I'm still singing this song

Every drop that fell was worth the taste

So hold the breath, don't let it waste

Say my name, once for now, twice for forever