Rust on the Chain (Version 2)

Intro

Talbot and Ninth, chain-link fence rusted orange like a bruise

Reggie's old Schwinn still leaning where he left it, still got use

Grandma's porch light flickers same as it did back in oh-four

Some things wear down slow, some things just close the door

Verse

Found the bike behind Frey's, spokes bent, tire flat, chain locked tight

Reggie said take it, said don't let the rust decide what's right

He rode it to school, rode it to work, rode it to the corner store

Traded pedals for a package, traded that for time behind a door

I oiled up the gears with what my uncle left in a can

Learned the chain don't break, it just forgets the plan

Delivered for Miss Odell, three blocks for a dollar fifty

Boys in the Malibu said hop in, said the bike'll leave you thrifty

Told them I got somewhere to be, told them the wheels don't lie

Watched the taillights fade past the church on Halsey and Fry

My knees ache different now, my hands stay stained with grease

Every mile's a receipt for the peace I chose to keep

Rust don't mean it's broken, rust just means it's been

Every scrape on the frame is a place that I've been in

I kept the chain, kept the name, kept the route the same

Some legacies ride quiet, some just spin off in flames

Chorus

Rust on the chain, but it still turns for me

Still turns for me, still earns for me

Every mile I ride is a mile I'm free

Rust on the chain, but it still turns for me

Verse

Summer of oh-nine, the block was hot as the pavement

Cousin came home different, said the time bought him patience

Watched him try to walk it back, try to find his old gear

Chain slipped twice on Halsey, third time he disappeared

I kept the Schwinn running, kept the tires half-inflated

Kept delivering groceries while the corner boys waited

They said the bike was a joke, said real money don't pedal

I said maybe not, but it don't ask me to settle

Miss Odell tipped me extra when the rain came down in sheets

Said your cousin used to ride here, said you got the same feet

I carry his name like a chain around my collarbone

Rust don't ask permission, it just makes the metal known

Every gear tooth worn smooth from the weight it had to hold

That's loyalty, that's the story that the rust has told

I don't need the shine, I need the wheels to still comply

Rust on the chain but the chain ain't ever said goodbye

Chorus

Rust on the chain, but it still turns for me

Still turns for me, still earns for me

Every mile I ride is a mile I'm free

Rust on the chain, but it still turns for me

Bridge

Reggie called last week, said he saw the bike online

Said some kid was riding something similar down Kline

Said it made him proud, said it made him think of home

Said the rust looked good on something built to roam

I told him I still got his, still got the dent in the guard

Told him some things you keep even when it's hard

He laughed, said keep it moving, said don't let it seize

I said that's the only thing I know how to be

Outro