This Good Hurt

[Verse 1]
I got a prayer for the Big Sandy River, not the God in the book.
For this crooked seam of a scar I got from a rusty fishhook.
It’s a map of a morning in late July, hot enough to make the devil sweat.
A silver reminder on my skin of a pain I ain't forgotten yet.

[Pre-Chorus]
And Lord, some nights the needle-pricks in my fingers keep a steady beat
With the hum from the fridge and the ghost of your feet on the floorboards, draggin' slow and tired
And I can feel the weight of this whole damn town, every roof I gotta keep from fallin' down
And just when I think I'm runnin' on nothin' but wire...

[Chorus]
This good hurt is the only proof I got.
A hallelujah for the battles I fought.
It's the only prayer that ain't a lie.
This good hurt means I'm still alive.

[Verse 2]
Jesse traced the veins on the back of my hand after supper last night.
Said, "Mama, you're all tangled up." I just smiled in the yellow kitchen light.
Told him these hands are a patchwork piece, some parts faded, some parts new.
Every callus, a story I'm savin' up to tell to you.

[Pre-Chorus]
And Lord, some nights the ache in my lower back is a fire I can't put out
It's the price of a double, the cost of the doubt, of doin' this all on my own
And I can feel the years stackin' up inside, findin' all the little broken places to hide
And just when I think I'm down to the bone...

[Chorus]
This good hurt is the only proof I got.
A hallelujah for the battles I fought.
It's the only prayer that ain't a lie.
This good hurt means I'm still alive.

[Bridge]
Some folks pray for healin', for the tears to all run dry.
I'm just thankin' whatever's listenin' for the reasons why I cry.

[Outro]
Yeah, this good hurt.
Means I'm still alive.