[Intro] [Tempo: 100 BPM] [Chugging outlaw country bassline kicks in with an assertive groove] [Upbeat '70s country drums with a sharp snare hit] [twangy electric guitar riff with heavy phase effect] [Verse 1] [Style: Driving Outlaw Country Groove] I pulled my truck into that gravel lot, where the diesel fumes hang low Beneath a rusted canopy where the forgotten waters flow I looked down at the concrete pad, at the fill pipes caked in grime I saw a shadow in the soil, a debt that’s due in time I told him, "Mister, there’s no eyes beneath this gravel floor You got no release detection on these tanks from days of yore" [Vocal change: Defensive mimicry] He looked me straight into the face, a cold and hollow stare He said, "Hell, I didn't know I needed sensors buried there." [Verse 2] [Style: Heavy twang guitar accents, driving beat continues] I hooked my computer to his console, but the screen was dark and dead The wiring was frayed and split, the warning lights burned red I told him, "Mister, this machine ain't talking to the deep The alarms are dead, the pumps are blind, while the poison starts to creep" He spit his tobacco on the boots I wore that day [Vocal change: Mocking tone] Said, "It was working fine this morning before you made your way... Besides, I can't afford the fix, the contractors are dry." [Vocal change: Confident baritone] I told him, "Underground, the truth don't ever buy a lie." [Chorus] [Style: Big anthemic '70s outlaw chorus, driving guitars] And the fuel runs deep where the sun don't shine! Just a slow-rolling sickness passing down the line! You can blame the lack of money, you can blame the empty sky! But the groundwater's choked, and the wells are running dry! Yeah, I write it in my ledger, the law is cold and stark... I'm the man who counts the poison leaking in the dark. [Verse 3] [Style: Rhythm drops to a steady bass-and-snare chug] I looked into his logbooks, but the pages all were clean No annual checks, no functional tests, no status on the screen I told him, "You ain't tested this equipment in a year." He shrugged his heavy shoulders, and he showed no sign of fear [Vocal change: Shrugging swagger] He said, "I didn't know I had to, man, I didn't have a clue... I was only waiting here to hear the word from you." [Vocal change: Assertive outlaw grit] I told him, "Ignorance don't keep the benzene from the well, And a buried tank of gasoline is a slow-burning hell." [Verse 4] [Style: Twangy electric guitar fills between lines] I pulled the federal register, showed the rules from recent years How the standards rose to meet the risks that everybody fears I said, "The old ways are outdated, your system fails the test." He laughed a bitter, hollow laugh and wiped his flannel vest [Vocal change: Angry defiance] He said, "Nobody told us that the law had gone and changed, They expect a working man to keep his whole life rearranged." I didn't say a word, just let the paperwork unfold Because the EPA don't care about the stories that are told. [Verse 5] [Style: Honky-tonk piano fills join the driving groove] He tried to show me how he manually stuck the tank for fuel Passing me a warped pine board he treated like a tool I said, "You're doing this all wrong, your math is completely blind You're losing gallons every week you'll never, ever find" [Vocal change: Shouting honky-tonk style] He yelled, "That’s how we've always done it, since my granddad ran the station! We never had an issue yet with any regulation!" I pointed to the stained dirt, the dead grass by the creek And the heavy scent of vapor that had been there for a week. [Bridge] [Style: High energy, phased electric guitar solo leads in] I clicked my pen and tore the sheet, the carbon copy white I handed him the violation in the fading afternoon light He took it with a shaking hand, his anger growing hot He looked around the quiet ghost town of his parking lot [Vocal change: Desperate explosion] He said, "The last inspector came through here and said that we were fine! He never said a goddamn word about your dollar sign!" I climbed back in my state truck and stared into the mirror And watched his faded neon sign grow smaller and less clear. [Chorus] [Style: Peak energy, full outlaw country climax] And the fuel runs deep where the sun don't shine! Just a slow-rolling sickness passing down the line! You can blame the lack of money, you can blame the empty sky! But the groundwater's choked, and the wells are running dry! Yeah, I write it in my ledger, the law is cold and stark... I'm the man who counts the poison leaking in the dark! [Outro] [rhythm slowdown] [Drums shift to a slow, steady stomp, phased electric guitar plays a final rolling riff] Last inspector's gone, my friend... he ain't the one who signs. Just another name forgotten in these regulatory lines. [Bassline walks down slowly] The soil remembers every drop... [Vocal delivery: Spoken drawl] Even when the owners don't. [Final sharp twangy electric guitar chord rings]