Lyrics

There's a half-lit bar on the edge of town
Neon hums when the sun goes down
He swore he wouldn't be back in that place
But life's got a way of changing your pace
He chased his dreams down those roads
Broke his back on the life he chose
I told him "don't worry daddy you'll be just fine"
Now's he lost in the mess he left behind

My mama said, "honey, don't run from pain"
But he never learned how to make it stay away, and said

I'm back to what I know, back to the burn
Back to a glass that don't ask me to learn
When the world gets loud and my faith gets low
I lean on the only thing I know
It don't fix a thing, but it gets me through
When I don't know where else to go
And, I hate that it's true
But I'm back to what I know

He tried clean nights and early mornings
White-knuckled hope and empty warnings
Said he was done with the ghosts inside
But they creep in when he kills the lights
Friends moved on, found higher ground
And he's still stuck in the same old doubts
Now he's sitting at the bar with his old friends
Jim beam and Jack Daniels are pourin' again

"Son I'm sorry I tried my best,
But the night keeps crawling back into my chest"

And I'm back to what I know, back to the flame
Back to the thing that calls my name
When my hands shake and my heart feels cold
I find my comfort in liquid gold
It don't save me, it just pretends
Like I ain't this lost soul
And I fall again
So I'm back to what I know

I see my reflection in the bottom of the glass
Looks like a man who's living in the past
I know this road don't lead me home
But it's the only one I've ever known
and if hopes still waiting somewhere down the line
Lord, I hope it's got patience for a soul like mine

And I'm back to what I know, back to the night
Back to a buzz that kills the fight
When the weight of the world gets too damn close
I drown my doubts in another dose
It don't heal me, it just slows
The hurt I can't outgrow
And I'm still chasing ghosts
But I'm back to what I know

Someday I'll find a better way
Someday I'll lay this crutch down slow
But tonight I'm just trying to stay afloat
So I'm back… back to what I know