These songs come from years spent behind the scenes—working the stage, tuning the sound, watching stories unfold in places that didn’t yet call themselves country bars. I wasn’t chasing spotlight. I was listening. Learning. Writing. We’re In It Now is the title track, but every song here carries a piece of that journey. I wrote them for anyone who’s ever felt the truth in a lyric or the weight in a chord. If you find yourself singing back to a line, or sitting quiet with a verse—well, that’s all a songwriter ever hopes for. I’m grateful you’re here. These songs are yours now, too.

We're In It Now Songwriter Edwin H. Balder

They say I’m trouble, say I’m loud  
Say I’m drunk and too damn proud  
But I just call it living strong  
‘Cause I ain’t done nothing wrong  
I cussed out a preacher in Abilene  
Tried to kiss his wife behind the screen  
Got banned from the Opry, twice last year  
But I still sell out and drink free beer  
They write me off, they write me songs  
But I ain’t done nothing wrong  
I ain’t done nothing wrong, just lived a little loud  
Got a fistful of stories and a fanbase crowd  
Yeah, I’ve said dumb things and I’ve swung too wide  
But I’ve never once faked what’s inside  
So pour me a shot and sing along  
I ain’t done nothing wrong  
Bar fights, bad tweets, motel sins  
I’ve lost some teeth and a few good friends  
But I still got my boots and my guitar  
And a heart that’s dumb but shoots for stars  
From dusty roads to neon lights  
I’ve chased dreams and endless nights  
Gambled hearts on the edge of town  
But I won't be the one to slow down  
Saw the sun rise on too many days  
And danced through life's winding maze  
I ain’t your hero, I ain’t your saint  
I’m just the paint on a honky-tonk complaint  
I mess up big, I love too hard  
But I never lied in a country bar  
I ain’t done nothing wrong, just lived a little loud  
Got a fistful of stories and a fanbase crowd  
Yeah, I’ve burned some bridges and I’ve kissed the flame  
But I’d do it all again the same  
So pour me a shot and sing along  
I ain’t done nothing wrong  
So if you see me stumbling through your town  
Just know I’m the fool who won’t stay down  
With a guitar in hand, I'll carry on  
I ain’t done nothing wrong  
Just wrote it all into song  nothing wrong
(nothing wrong)nothing wrong...Just wrote.. it.. all... into song

Link to best of our country hits that you can cover to get to the top... https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/country-hits-you-might-need?si=307edea8be674dc3bedee9345a814080&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Rights Reserved Edwin H. Balder
Thanks so much to Del and the Team
See Our Music Videos Here> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-509h42heKT05D8egf2U9w

They Say I’m Trouble

It’s an informed tradeoff, not a fall
I left the comfort for the flame
I knew the cost before the call
I didn’t flinch, I took the blame
I took it all, I took it all
I gave up ease to chase the sound
I traded quiet for the brawl
I lost some friends but gained the ground
I walked alone but felt what’s right
I let the silence be my guide
I sang to stars that blinked at night
I kept my fire, I kept my pride
I gave up answers for the line
The rhyme was crooked, but it rang
I let go time to make it mine
I played for ghosts that never sang
I lost some nights to louder bars
I gained a voice that cuts and gleams
I found my home beneath the stars
I built my truth from broken dreams
I didn’t beg, I didn’t bend
I didn’t wait for fate to call
I learned to lose without the end
I learned to rise without the fall
It’s an informed tradeoff, not a fall
I knew the cost before the call
I gave what I could, I kept what I must
I built my life on sound and trust
It’s not regret, it’s not defeat
It’s choosing fire over concrete
It’s knowing pain, but still you play
It’s walking out and not away
I didn’t fall—I made the trade
I didn’t break—I bent, I stayed
I didn’t run—I changed my pace
I didn’t beg—I gave it grace
I didn’t lose—I let things go
I didn’t fade—I learned to glow
I didn’t quit—I made a stand
I held the note with my own hand
It’s an informed tradeoff… not a fall
I knew the cost before the call
It’s an informed tradeoff… not a fall
And I’d do it all again… fuck it all.... 

Link to more of our Singer/songwriter style hits you can cover into fame because of your take!
https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/best-new-folk-americana?si=04e0155163644977b37cf8c0a04f3c53&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing



All Rights Reserved Edwin H. Balder
Thanks so much to the band: Hot Cookie
See Our Music Videos Here> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-509h42heKT05D8egf2U9w

F_ck It All by Edwin H. Balder

Been a long, lonely while
Since I’ve seen that smile
The one I used to come home to
Each day before we lost our way
And suddenly, there you are
Getting out of your car
And I’m just standing here
Wondering how I let you go
So, so, so long ago
You looked at me like time stood still
Like the years hadn’t had their fill
Of all the things we didn’t say
Of all the nights we gave away
I felt the wind, I felt the ache
I felt the ground begin to shake
And all I wanted was to know
If you still think of me
From so long ago
So long ago
But I still feel it you know
Like a summer wind
Through the things we didn’t mend
So long ago
But I still what to know
do you ever think of me
and the way we used to be 
so long ago   oooooh
so long..ago
I remember your laugh in the kitchen light
I remember your tears when we used to fight
I remember the way you’d hum that tune
And how we’d dance beneath the moon
I remember the way you’d say my name
Like it was safe, like it was flame
And now you’re here, and I’m undone
By everything we could’ve won
You said, “I wasn’t sure I’d stop”
I said, “I wasn’t sure I’d drop”
But here we are, on this old street
Where memory and silence meet
I’m not asking for a vow
Just wondering if you feel it now
That maybe time was just a thief
That maybe love still hides beneath
So long ago
But I still feel it you know
Like a summer wind
Through the things we didn’t mend
So long ago
But I still what to know
do you ever think of me
and the way we used to be 
so long ago   oooooh
so long..ago
I never stopped loving you
I just stopped saying it
And maybe that’s the same thing
Or maybe it’s the reason
We’re standing here
So long ago
So long ago
So long ago…
So long ago
But I still feel it you know
Like a summer wind
Through the things we didn’t mend
So long ago
But I still what to know
do you ever think of me
and the way we used to be 
so long ago   oooooh
so long..ago


Link to best of our country hits that you can cover to get to the top... https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/country-hits-you-might-need?si=307edea8be674dc3bedee9345a814080&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Rights Reserved Edwin H. Balder
Thanks so much to Del and the Team
See Our Music Videos Here> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-509h42heKT05D8egf2U9w

So Long Ago written by Edwin H. Balder

Rolling one for Willie
While the sun dips low
Thinking ‘bout the voices
That taught me how to go
John Prine with a crooked grin
Taught me how to write from within
Jerry Jeff with a worn-out hat
Showed me where the wild ones sat
Hank sang pain like it was gold
Patsy made the heartbreak bold
Charlie Pride with velvet fire
Lit the truth and raised it higher
Chet picked notes like falling rain
Made me feel the joy and strain
And Willie—he just stayed the course
With a song, a soul, and a beat-up voice
Rolling one for Willie
And all the ones who came before
They gave me rhythm, gave me reason
Gave me something to adore
Rolling one for Willie
And the stories that they told
They made me sing, they made me swing
They made this boy's  country rock and roll
I walked through Memphis in my boots
Heard the echoes in the roots
I rode that midnight Georgia train
Felt the gospel in the rain
I thanked the Lord for country boys
For banjos, barns, and backroad noise
I played the chords they left behind
And found my voice in every line
They weren’t perfect, they weren’t saints
But they gave me songs, gave me paints
To color life in shades of truth
To write the blues into my youth
Now I sit beneath the stars
With a pen, a pick, and a few old scars
And every time I light one up
I raise their names can' get enough
Rolling one for Willie
And all the ones who came before
They gave me rhythm, gave me reason
Gave me something to adore
Rolling one for Willie
And the stories that they told
They made me sing, they made me swing
they showed me wonders music can hold
Here’s to the ones who taught me how
To sing the truth and take a bow
To write it raw, to play it clean
To chase the light behind the screen
Rolling one for Willie
And the legends in my soul
They made me whole
They made me whole
Rolling one for Willie
And the legends in my soul
They made me whole  ooooh
They made me whole  ooooh
They made me whole 

Link to best of our country hits that you can cover to get to the top... https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/country-hits-you-might-need?si=307edea8be674dc3bedee9345a814080&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Rights Reserved Edwin H. Balder
Thanks so much to Del and the Team
See Our Music Videos Here> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-509h42heKT05D8egf2U9w

Rolling One for Willie written by Edwin H. Balder

I was twenty-three with a half-tank dream
Runnin’ from ghosts and gasoline
Had a map with coffee stains
And a heart that couldn’t outrun pain
Pulled into a diner off I-10
Met a waitress with a crooked grin
She said, “Every man hits a crossroad in their life
most for love, and she said for that I got no advice
I’d been offered deals and nashville lights
Fast-track fame and sleepless nights
But I kept hearin’ my daddy’s drawl
Sayin’, “Son, not every rise is worth the fall.”
So I turned down the record man
Took a gig with a local band
Played for tips and second chances
In bars where truth still dances
There’s a fork in the dust
(There’s a fork in the dust)
Where the wind don’t trust
And the signs all fade with time
You can chase the gold
(You can chase the gold)
Or hold what’s old
But you can’t ride both lines
Every choice leaves a scar
Every mile tells who you are( who you are)who you are
There’s a fork in the dust
And it don’t wait long
so do your best with every dam song (every dam song)
every dam song
do your best with... every.... dam .......SONG!
Met a girl with a voice like summer rain
She sang of loss that keeps comm'en back again
We wrote a song ‘bout broken roads
And how some hearts just don’t ever know
She asked me once, “Would you trade this life
For a mansion, fame, and a trophy wife?”
I said, “I’d rather sleep in a truck bed cold
Than drown in music not from my soal
we get older, boots get  worn thin
yet Still chasin’ chords in desert wind
 made mistakes, let folks down
But I never sold-out.. my hometown sound
And when the young ones ask me why
I didn’t climb that corporate sky
I say, “The stars ain’t worth the climb
If you lose your soul ....and I still got mine   still got mine...still got mine
There’s a fork in the dust
(There’s a fork in the dust)
Where the wind don’t trust
And the signs all fade with time
You can chase the gold
(You can chase the gold)
Or hold what’s old
But you can’t ride both lines
Every choice leaves a scar
Every mile tells who you are( who you are)who you are
There’s a fork in the dust
And it don’t wait long
so do your best with every dam song (every dam song)
every dam song
do your best with... every.... dam .......SONG!
 if you’re standin’ where I stood
Choose the road that feels like it should
Not polished stone or silver lies
But the one where truth still rides
There’s a fork in the dust
(There’s a fork in the dust)
Where the wind don’t trust
And the signs all fade with time
You can chase the gold
(You can chase the gold)
Or hold what’s old
But you can’t ride both lines
Every choice leaves a scar
Every mile tells who you are( who you are)who you are
There’s a fork in the dust
And it don’t wait long
so do your best with every dam song (every dam song)
every dam song
do your best with... every.... dam .......SONG!

Link to best of our country hits that you can cover to get to the top... https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/country-hits-you-might-need?si=307edea8be674dc3bedee9345a814080&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Rights Reserved Edwin H. Balder
Thanks so much to Del and the Team
See Our Music Videos Here> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-509h42heKT05D8egf2U9w

Fork in the Dust written by Edwin H. Balder

He said the thing you don’t unsay (don’t unsay)
She turned her back and walked away (walked away)
The porch light flickered, then went dark (went dark)
The dog just whimpered in the yard (the yard)
You feel it shift, you feel it yet
No rewind, no... safety.... net.....
We’re in it now, no turnin’ back
We’re in it now The bridge is burned, the sky gone black
We crossed the line, we made good look bad
No fixin’ this, no going back .....to what we had
We’re in it now( We’re in it now)
We’re in it now
We’re in it now, no turnin’ back
We’re in it now The bridge is burned, the sky gone black
We crossed the line, we made good look bad
No fixin’ this, no going back ......to what we had
We’re in it now( We’re in it now)
We’re in it now
It started with a whisper, ended in a roar
A truth too big to hide behind the door
She said, “I’m done,” he said, “I dare”
And the wind just watched like it wasn’t there
The neighbors prayed, the preacher drank
The river rose, the levee sank
The dog still howls, the porch still creaks
And the mailbox rusts cause no one speaks
The fire took the fence, the rain took the trail
And the stars blinked out like a closing tale
It started with a whisper, ended in a roar
A truth too big to hide behind the door
You can’t unsay what’s carved in stone
You can’t unride what’s gone alone
 if you’re standin’ on that edge ready to make a move
Think twice before you think you got somting to prove
‘Cause once it’s said, you might want to run
You’ll feel the heat, that shits never done
We’re in it now ( We’re in it now)
We’re in it now
We crossed the line, we made good look bad
No fixin’ this, no going back....to what we had
We’re in it now( We’re in it now)
We’re in it now

Link to best of our country hits that you can cover to get to the top... https://soundcloud.com/edwin-balder/sets/country-hits-you-might-need?si=307edea8be674dc3bedee9345a814080&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

All Rights Reserved Edwin H. Balder
Thanks so much to Del and the Team
See Our Music Videos Here> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-509h42heKT05D8egf2U9w

We’re In It Now written by Edwin H. Balder

In the shadows of Apache Junction, at the foot of the majestic Superstition Mountains, sits a weathered hacienda. This desert oasis is home to an enigmatic figure, a songwriter whose journey reads like a long, dusty road of honky-tonk bars and college cafeterias. He wasn't chasing fame or glitter; instead, he chose the soul-crushing beauty of music for music's sake.

Years spent hunched over sticky barroom tables and scribbling lyrics on napkins earned him a reputation—not in the spotlight but in the back rooms where deals are made. He wrote melodies that found their way into the hearts of stars who had lost their own muse. He sold his creations for cash, with no recognition, but the whisper of his songs carried the weight of his soul.

Finally, he bought this piece of desert paradise—a stable income from his timeless songs allowed him to live comfortably, if anonymously. Here in this hacienda, with his family beside him and the mountains as his backdrop, he found the peace to write hits under his own name. He chuckled at the irony that now, without chasing fame, he could create music that brought him joy.

In the end, it was never about the spotlight. It was about the journey, the stories, and the songs that wrote themselves through his life. As the sun set behind the Superstitions, casting long shadows over the hacienda, he strummed his guitar and sang—content, unknown, and unburdened by the world's gaze.


Copyright 2019 Edwin H. Balder

I may be dead when fame comes but my real glory was always JULIE & The Kids. Thank you for such love

F_ck It All by Edwin H. Balder

Edwin Balder