You were sixteen
Barefoot
On that brown front lawn
Sippin’ warm Bud from a mason jar
Till the daylight was gone
I brought my first old pickup
You carved your name in the rust
We talked big dreams
Small-town schemes
And broke what little we could trust

You laughed at my good intentions
You set 'em fire, watched 'em spread
I swore someday I’d quit you
Still you’re the habit I kept

You lived down the street
And lived in my head
With you everyone thought I was better off dead
My mother said no way
My wife said the same
But I'd rather have a bad friend than good one to blame
But I'd rather have a bad friend than good one to blame (hey)

You called last week past midnight
From some bar off 65
Said you’d lost your last dollar
But you’d never felt so alive
I said
“Man
I got kids sleepin’
And a mortgage on this place”
Then I grabbed my keys
Left the porch light swingin’
With your name written on my face

They say I’m done with your chaos
That I finally broke your spell
But I’m parked out back
Engine runnin’
Ready to walk through hell

You lived down the street
And lived in my head
With you everyone thought I was better off dead
My mother said no way
My wife said the same
But I'd rather have a bad friend than good one to blame
Yeah I'd rather have a bad friend than good one to blame

You lived down the street
And lived in my head
Every warning they gave
Every word that they said
My mother said no way
My wife said the same
But I'd rather have a bad friend than good one to blame
(Yeah) I'd rather have a bad friend than good one to blame

(C) 2026 Mason & Mason/Kicking Tires

Bad Friend

Sounds echo
But all I hear are ghosts
Your footsteps fall across the room
Like quiet voices in my head

Light streams through the window
But all I see is dust
I see pain
I see that I will never see you again

You're gone but you keep on speaking
Just a breath at the back of my mind
Every shadow is you
Every silence
Another goodbye
I reach out to the air
To the shape where you used to stand
I am talking to the dust
Like it understands

Mug rings on the table
Your name scratched in the paint
Tiny proofs you were really here
Little stains that never fade
Clock hand ticks like a warning
But the day won't move along
I hold my breath in the half-light
Hear you in every quiet song (oh)

You're gone but you keep on speaking
Just a breath at the back of my mind
Every shadow is you
Every silence
Another goodbye
I reach out to the air
To the shape where you used to stand
I am talking to the dust
Like it understands

If I whisper your name
Will you answer in the walls?
If I open my eyes
Will I see you at all?
My hands on the window
Cold glass
Shaking lungs
I count every heartbeat
'til the feeling comes back (come back)

You're gone but you keep on speaking
Just a breath at the back of my mind
Every shadow is you
Every silence
Another goodbye
I reach out to the air
To the shape where you used to stand
I am talking to the dust
And it takes what it can

You're gone but you keep on speaking
In the cracks of this quiet room
I am living with ghosts
'til there's nothing left of you

Sounds echo
But all I hear are ghosts
Light streams through the window
Like Ghosts In The Dust

(C) 2026 Concrete Petals/Kicking Tires

Ghosts in the Dust

Knuckles still red from the parking lot words
Your perfume’s mixed with the smell of dirt
Bartender’s watchin’ like he’s seen this scene
My phone face down so I can’t see it ring

You said you’re tired of my stubborn pride
I said some things that I can’t rewind
Swore I’d go home but I’m stuck right here
Staring at the sweat on this halfway warm beer

Another long night in the yard
Another long fight in the car
You ask me why I’m here
I’m here for the beer

Another slammed door in the dark
Another fresh bruise on my heart
You ask me why I’m here
I’m here for the beer (yeah I’m here)

TV’s drownin’ out the slurred advice
Old boys laughin’ ’bout their ruined lives
I trace your name in the ring you left
On this wood scarred up like my own regrets
You’ll say I’m lost
I’ll say you’re fine
We’ll trade blame like we trade cheap lines
Truth is
Darlin’
It’s the same damn tear
Rollin’ down your cheek and fallin’ in my beer

Another long night in the yard
Another long fight in the car
You ask me why I’m here
I’m here for the beer
Another burned bridge in the dark
Another fresh bruise on my heart
You ask me why I’m here
I’m here for the beer (oh I’m here for the beer)

If I walk back through that door
Will we just rewind the war
Or could we lay our weapons down
’Fore we burn this whole thing out (yeah)

Another long night in the yard
Another long fight in the car
You ask me why I’m here
I’m here for the beer
Another cursed word in the dark
Another fresh bruise on my heart
You ask me why I’m here
I’m here for the beer

Another long night in the yard (in the yard)
Another long fight in the car (in the car)
You ask me why I’m here
I’m here for the beer
Another long night in the yard
Another long fight in the car
You ask me why I’m here?
I’m here for the beer (here for the beer, hey)

(C) 2026 Mason & Mason/Kicking Tires

Here for the Beer

Here For The Beer

I’m a dreamer
Man
I know it
Living out of this beat-up van
Same pair of jeans
Same torn wallet
Another town
Another three-fan jam

Neon buzz on a Tuesday night
Tip jar’s rattling with pocket change
Writing setlists on a beer-stained flyer
Call it progress
Call it pain

Clothes dirty with busted seams
Guitar’s heavy with broken dreams
As I play small clubs and smaller pubs
Catch my friend at the bar with his big thumbs up
Saying
(hey man) “You belong in Nashville”
Yeah right
Yeah right
But I still chase that angle
Every mile
Every mic
“You belong in Nashville”
Yeah right

Kansas City
Then Des Moines
Sleeping crooked in the backseat crawl
Mom keeps asking
“When you coming home?”
I say
“Soon
” but I stall

Post some pictures from a highway diner
Filter ‘em so it looks like gold
Truth is
The waitress doesn't know me
And the coffee's not like home

Clothes dirty with busted seams
Guitar’s heavy with broken dreams
As I play small clubs and smaller pubs
Catch my friend at the bar with his big thumbs up
Saying
(oh yeah) “You belong in Nashville”
Yeah right
Yeah right
But I still chase that angle
Every mile
Every mic
“You belong in Nashville”
Yeah right

I got gas on the card
Hope it clears
A head full of songs
A trunk full of fears
If this is crazy
Then let it be
‘Cause that craziness is all I got in me

Clothes dirty with busted seams
Guitar’s heavy with broken dreams
As I play small clubs and smaller pubs
Catch my friend at the bar with his big thumbs up
Saying
(come on) “You belong in Nashville”
Yeah right
Yeah right
But if I hit that angle
On one wild Friday night
Maybe I’ll be in Nashville
Yeah, Right

(C) 2026 Mason & Mason/Kicking Tires

Mason & Mason Vol. 1

You Belong in Nashville (Yeah Right)

You walk like the dark can’t see you
Your hands in your pockets, you exist
I count every shadow
I mark every exit
Keys cutting my fist
Who said this was normal?
Who told you that was comfort?
When is it my turn to breathe?

Are you praying or just praying for prey?
Is it quiet ‘cause you’re safe?
Or ‘cause you’re sure you’ll get away
Is it fear? Is it power?
Is it all the same place?
Tell me why your peace feels like a blade
Are you praying or just praying for prey?

You say “I’ll walk you back.”
Like a gift, like a favor
Is it kindness or madness?
Either way, I'm not free.

You sleep like the dark won't find you
I sleep when your breathing's near
You call it a compliment
I call it living in fear.

Are you praying or just praying for prey
Is it doubt? Is it hunger?
Is it care or control?
Is it instinct? Is it ego?
When you just won't let it go?

You never learned to flinch at footsteps
You never learned to shrink your name
You walk the night like it adores you
I walk it hoping I don’t stay
Is this innocence or apathy?
Are you free to look away?
Are you fearless and I'm the one who pays?

Are you praying or just praying for prey?
Is it innocence or entitlement
When you never feel afraid?
Is it doubt? Is it power?
Is it all the same to you?
Why is my terror your everyday due?
Are you praying or just praying for prey?
Yeah, you're praying for prey

(C) 2026 Concrete Petals/Kicking Tires

Praying for Prey

You trace maps on my wrist 
Lines I never knew 
All these undone wishes
Spilling into view 
Breath on the glass 
Names in the steam 
We were so sure 
What it all would mean 

But the world keeps turning sharper 
Cutting edges in our dreams 
Every promise pulling tighter
Till they rip at the seams 

I’ve seen the future, what’s to come
All our colors overrun 
Closed my eyes and came undone (let it wash me, let it run) 
I’ve seen the future, it’s begun
Every shadow on the run 
Closed my eyes, came undone
All our colors overrun 

We stand on our faults
Laughing as they shake 
Every small decision
Wider than oceans we could make 
Flash of your smile
Against the dark
I lose my fear
Inside the spark 

And the ground falls out beneath us 
But we’re weightless in the fall 
Every fracture turns to starlight 
When I hear you call 

I’ve seen the future, what’s to come 
All our colors overrun 
Closed my eyes and came undone (yeah, I’m ready, I won’t run) 
I’ve seen the future, it’s begun 
Every shadow on the run 
Closed my eyes, came undone 
All our colors overrun 

Hands up 
Hearts loud 
We’re a fever in the crowd (oh) 
Every heartbeat shouting back 
We’re never going back
Wide eyes
One sky 
You and I collide
If this is what’s to come
I don’t wanna hide 

I’ve seen the future, what’s to come 
All our colors overrun 
Closed my eyes, came undone (let it take us, one by one) 
I’ve seen the future, it’s begun 
Every shadow on the run
Closed my eyes and came undone
All our colors overrun

(C) 2026 Concrete Petals/Kicking Tires

All Our Colors Overrun

Harmonica crying low
Smoke curling in the glow
One empty rocking chair
Breath hangs in the air

Boots by the screen door
Mud from that last June rain
Two glasses on the counter
Only one with your name
Your jacket on the armrest
Like you just stepped outside
Every little quiet thing
Keeps taking your side

I sat alone and watched the sunset
Paint the sky above far away hills
Had the fire going
The music rolling
It was a perfect night to miss you
Still
Every amber spark was your laughter
Every fading color felt like us
I raised a glass into the twilight
To a perfect night
To miss you this much

Dog stirred in the shadows
Turned his head like he heard your truck
I checked my phone for nothing
Scroll and swallow
Trying not to look stuck
That song you used to hum low
Came on
Cut straight through
All at once the whole damn porch
Felt built for two

I sat alone and watched the sunset
Paint the sky above far away hills
Had the fire going
The music rolling
It was a perfect night to miss you
Still
Every amber spark was your laughter
Every fading color felt like us
I raised a glass into the twilight
To a perfect night
To miss you this much

Maybe you’re out there somewhere
Under some different shade of gold
Do you ever taste this quiet
In the stories that you never told?
I’d give every restless midnight
For one slow evening back with you
Just your head on my shoulder
And nothing left to prove

I sat alone and watched the sunset
Paint the sky above far away hills
Had the fire going
The music rolling
It was a perfect night to miss you
Still
Every amber spark was your laughter
Every fading color felt like us
I whispered your name to the starlight
On a perfect night
To miss you this much

Harmonica fading
Low and lonesome
Fire down to the faintest blue
Sky gone dark over far away hills
But I stay right here
Still missing you

(C) 2026 Mason & Mason/Kicking Tires

Miss You Still

Started out in a beat-up Ford
Half a tank and a six-string chord
Mama said, “Boy… don’t lose your way”
But I left this town to chase that name

Every bar felt like my big break
Every tip jar paid my way
Every mile was one step closer
To the life I couldn’t wait to make

Yeah, I followed every dotted line
Didn’t know back then what I’d find inside

Spent a lifetime on the road
Many miles, dreams bought and sold
Gave it everything, gave it my all, yeah
Just to stand here feelin’ small
Yeah I made it, yeah I know
Got the lights, got the show
But tell me why, tell me why
Hittin’ it big feels so small
Yeah, hittin’ it big don’t feel big at all

Now it’s wristbands, neon nights
Same damn songs in different lights
Fans on phones all singin’ along
Don’t know me, but they know the song

Money’s good, but it ain’t enough
Don’t matter what I do, it don't feel like much
Every high fades out, it don't last long
Then I’m stuck right here where I don’t belong

Yeah, I got what I swore would make me whole
Didn’t know back then what I’d lose was home

Spent a lifetime on the road
Many miles, dreams bought and sold
Gave it everything, gave it my all, yeah
Just to stand here feelin’ small
Yeah I made it, yeah I know
Got the lights, got the show
But tell me why, tell me why
Hittin’ it big feels so small
Yeah, hittin’ it big don’t feel big at all

Got a porch light on and a gravel drive
Kids callin’, “Daddy!” from the yard outside
Kitchen light on, a screen door swings
They don’t care about a thing
No sold-out crowds, no neon glow
Just bare feet runnin’ down that road
All this time I was chasin’ more
Didn’t see what I had at my own front door

Spent a lifetime on the road
Many miles, dreams bought and sold
Gave it everything, gave it my all, yeah
Just to stand here feelin’ small
Yeah I made it, yeah I know
Got the lights, got the show
But lookin’ ‘round, lookin’ ‘round
Maybe I was big all along… all along

(C) Mason & Mason/Kicking Tires

Hittin' It Big (Feels So Small)

Kicking Tires

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