[Intro]
Boots on the floorboards
Dust in a sunbeam
Grandma in the doorway
Smiling like a daydream
That old work shirt
Hung on a nail
Coffee can of pennies
And a box of rusty nails

[Verse 1]
Grandpa kept his stories
On the shelf by the door
Thermos and a lunch pail
Beat up from the war
But he’d reach past the hard hat
Every Friday night
For that nine pound hammer
Shining in the light

[Verse 2]
He said “Boy, this ain’t a relic
This here’s my one true friend
Drove me through the mountains
Paid the rent again”
Laid it on the table
Scarred wood, burn mark
Said “You can hear the rhythm
If you listen in the dark”

[Chorus]
Grandpa’s nine pound hammer
Ringin’ like a Sunday choir
Every swing threw sparks
Every spark built a fire
We danced in the kitchen
On that beaten pine floor
Grandpa’s nine pound hammer
Keepin’ time, askin’ for more (hey!)

[Verse 3]
He’d tap on the handle
Like he’s countin’ off the band
Grin under his mustache
Tobacco on his hand
“Two for the rent, son
Two for the Lord
One more swing
For the love I swung for”

[Verse 4]
Grandma wiped her hands
On a red-flowered rag
Rolled her eyes, laughin’
“Listen to him brag”
But she’d hum that little tune
He whistled on the line
And the whole house rattled
Right in perfect time

[Pre-Chorus]
He said “The world hit harder
Than this hammer ever could
So I learned to swing in rhythm
Turn the bad into the good”
He pressed it in my palms
Heavy as his name
“Carry this, boy
But don’t carry my pain”

[Chorus]
Grandpa’s nine pound hammer
Ringin’ like a Sunday choir
Every swing threw sparks
Every spark built a fire
We danced in the kitchen
On that beaten pine floor
Grandpa’s nine pound hammer
Keepin’ time, askin’ for more (oh yeah)

[Verse 5]
Now I’m on a roadside
Neon motel sign
Toolbox in the backseat
Miles on my mind
Got his old blue jacket
Folded on the chair
That hammer in the glovebox
Like a little piece of prayer

[Verse 6]
I don’t break rock
I fix busted things
Wires and worn-out motors
Doors off the hinge
But I lay that handle
Right across my knee
And I hear Grandpa laughin’
“Boy, you look like me”

[Bridge]
Some men leave money
Some men leave land
He left a calloused story
In the shape of my hand
Every scar he carried
Every shift he pulled
Lives inside that iron
Lives inside my blood

[Verse 7]
Thanksgiving morning
Kids on the rug
I set that old hammer
By the chipped coffee mug
They crowd round starin’
At the dings and the dirt
I say “This thing built a future
Out of sweat and hurt”

[Verse 8]
My youngest starts tappin’
On the wood with a spoon
Oldest starts clappin’
In a half-made tune
Wi-fi on the fritz
But our hearts online
To an old coal rhythm
From another time

[Chorus]
Grandpa’s nine pound hammer
Ringin’ like a Sunday choir
Every swing threw sparks
Every spark built a fire
We dance in the kitchen
On this beaten pine floor
Grandpa’s nine pound hammer
Keepin’ time, askin’ for more (come on!)

[Verse 9]
One day I’ll be gray
Leanin’ on a cane
Shufflin’ to the pantry
Callin’ grandkids’ names
I’ll pull down that hammer
From a nail in the wall
Say “You don’t swing it for the weight, son
You swing it ‘cause you fall”