Official Lyrics
Born where the Ozark ridges rise
Red clay roads and open skies
Calloused hands and a stubborn streak
Work all day raise hell all week
Blood sweat tears in everything
You learn real quick what hard times bring
Hillbilly blood and damn proud too
You take care of yours they take care of you
There's a light on down the road tonight
And you don't need a reason to stop by
The coffee's always on
And the door's always open
Pull up a chair friend
You don't need a token
There's whiskey on the shelf
And a story in every scar
Some came home from overseas
Some didn't travel far
But everybody's somebody
When they walk through that door
At Black Sea Shines
You're family evermore
There's an old vet leaning on the bar
Talking 'bout a place that's twice as far
Another one laughs says I've been there too
And just like that they're halfway through
A pot of coffee and an hour or three
Swapping old lies and memories
Some stories hurt some make you grin
Some don't get told 'til the moonshine kicks in
Yeah you might walk in a stranger
But that ain't how you'll leave tonight
The coffee's always on
And the door's always open
Pull up a chair friend
Say whatever needs spoken
There's whiskey on the shelf
And a story in every scar
Some carried rifles some carried wrenches
Everybody carried something hard
And everybody's somebody
When they walk through that door
At Black Sea Shines
You're family evermore
When that Ozark sun starts sinking low
That's when the good stuff starts to flow
Moonshine evening guitars turned loud
A little smoke and a hometown crowd
GBR17 two years laid down
Earned that silver and brought it home proud
But trophies ain't why we pour this glass
It's for the ones beside us and the ones who've passed
We know what it's like
To be a long damn way from home
To miss the sound of familiar voices
When you're somewhere all alone
So if you've worn the uniform
Or you're just worn down from life
There's a chair here with your name on it
And a fire burning bright
No fancy invitation
No need to call ahead
Just come on in and sit a spell
There's coffee in the pot instead
Blood sweat and tears
That's how we built it
Ozarks born and raised
That's how we live it
Veteran owned
And damn proud of it
Black Sea Shines
Come on in
'Cause the coffee's always on
And the door's always open
There's a million damn stories
Still waiting to be spoken
Raise a glass to the working hands
The hometowns and the scars
To the ones who came back home again
And the ones still fighting wars
Yeah everybody's somebody
That's what these hills are for
At Black Sea Shines
You're family evermore
Ozarks born
Ozarks raised
Hard work good whiskey
And better days
If you're passing through
You know where we are
The coffee's always on friend
And the door's always open
Notes:
The story behind starting all this is: Joe invited Paul and I to join him on a trip to a recording studio outside of Milwaukee. After the session, we were all having lunch on the back porch - Pizza. Gary, the recording engineer pulls out his phone and says "just a second". He puts joe's lyrics into the Suno app on his phone just to see what happens.
Shazam! Abracadabra.
Suno spits out a version of one of Joe's songs - but with background lyrics, harmonies, and a full band. My first reaction was "this sucks". Everyone agreed. However, Gary simply said - "hey, that's the first one out of the gate. No work put into it. Of course it's crap. But it gives you an idea of the power of AI."
Agreed.
I was hooked.
"What can I do with this?"
Two days later, I was at my brother Jeff's lakehouse. I woke up early, early, early. Coffee and a beer or two later. I already had this song done. My lyrics. AI edited and worked through cleaning up the lyrics and different iterations. Then into SUNO AI.
Soon, I decided the subscription was prudent. Then subscribed to Distrokid.
The next morning I had Spotify rockin' the new song for Black Sea Shines. The Door's Always Open. Our new anthem.
What a can of worms.
And so...it started.
This song was easy to write. It sums up the feeling of our Distillery. Like the owner always says, The Door is Always Open and the Coffee's On. David gives credit to his dad for always saying this to others. The phrase sums up Black Sea Shines and those of us involved. Now it's put to music. Eternal.
Not a bad first song if I do say so myself.
What a journey of learning Suno provided for me.