Better Than I Found It” came from something my dad always said growing up, take care of what ain’t yours, and leave it better than you found it. It stuck with me in the little things first, gates, trucks, borrowed tools, but over time it became bigger than that. It turned into how you treat people, relationships, and life itself. This song is really just that lesson, passed down, lived out, and finally put into words.

Faded Strings” is an ode to Johnny Paycheck and his song Old Violin, built around the image of an old violin that’s worn, quiet, and past its prime but still full of truth. It’s really about people, love, and the parts of us that don’t sound the same anymore. The song leans into that idea that just because something’s faded doesn’t mean it’s lost its worth, sometimes that’s where the real story lives.

The Shot I Never Took” comes from a different kind of battle, the one that doesn’t end when you leave the field. It’s about living with PTSD, the weight of it, the quiet moments where your mind can turn on you, and the thoughts you don’t always talk about.