Rather Live Wild Than Die Correct

Verse 1

I spilled red wine on a brand-new shirt,

Laughed so hard it didn’t even hurt.

The dirt on my hands I won’t regret.

I’d rather live wild than die correct.

Verse 2

Paint on my jeans, mud on my boots,

Stories grow stronger down in the roots.

Perfect is plastic, it cracks in the sun,

But messes are proof you’ve lived, not run.

[Pre-Chorus]

Isn’t it better to bleed than to hide

Aren’t wild hearts the ones that collide

[Chorus]

I’d rather live wild than die correct.

Gamble my heart, with no safety net.

Scars tell what we’ve been through,

That’s how we know our hearts are true.

Scars and stains, they make us whole,

Dirt’s the diamond inside the soul.

Verse 3

Kissed the wrong lips, stayed out too late,

Turned wrong turns into twist of fate.

Bruises and blunders, I’ll wear my scars,

Better than sitting still, wishing on stars.

Verse 4

Broke my guitar on a barroom chair,

Songs spilled out and filled the air.

Folk say “tidy,” but tidy’s a cage,

I’ll dance in the dust, I’ll burn on the stage.

Verse 5

Love isn’t clean, it’s ketchup and fries,

Fights in the rain, then soft goodbyes.

Tangled sheets and uncombed hair,

That’s where the truth hides somewhere.

[Pre-Chorus]

Would you trade your scars for a spotless day

Or keep your mess and live your way

[Chorus]

I’d rather live wild than die correct.

Gamble my heart, with no safety net.

Scars tell what we’ve been through,

That’s how we know our hearts are true.

Scars and stains, they make us whole,

Dirt’s the diamond inside the soul.

Verse 6

The world wants polish, a filtered glow,

But smudges show where the soul will go.

I’ll keep my scars, my crooked smile,

They tell the tale of a life worthwhile.

Verse 7

Spilled my secrets, lost my pride,

But shame don’t grow where brave reside.

I’d rather be messy and hard to define,

Than fit neat boxes that ain’t even mine.

Verse 8

I’ve seen the broken make beauty loud,

A cracked-up voice still moves the crowd.

It’s the mess inside that gives it weight,

Ugly’s a door to something really great.

[Pre-Chorus]

If the cracks let the light shine through,

Don’t they make the realest view

[Chorus]

I’d rather live wild than die correct.

Gamble my heart, with no safety net.

Scars tell what we’ve been through,

That’s how we know our hearts are true.

Scars and stains, they make us whole,

Dirt’s the diamond inside the soul.

[Bridge]

Tear down the walls, throw paint on the glass,

Life’s not a mirror, it’s meant to get trashed.

Every spill is a story, every crack a song,

The messy ones know where they belong.

Verse 9

Lovers leave notes on crumpled sheets,

Promises mostly fail, and pain repeats.

But still I’d risk the cuts and scars,

‘Cause neat little lives don’t reach stars.

Verse 10

Kids with chalk all over the floor,

Fingerprints smeared on every door.

That’s how I know I’ve really lived,

Messes are gifts the tidy can’t give.

[Pre-Chorus]

Aren’t we all just spilled red wine

Stains that make the story shine

[Chorus]

I’d rather live wild than die correct.

Gamble my heart, with no safety net.

Scars tell what we’ve been through,

That’s how we know our hearts are true.

Scars and stains, they make us whole,

Dirt’s the diamond inside the soul.

Verse 11

Falling apart’s just part of the show,

A garden needs dirt before things grow.

So let me stumble, let me fall,

Messes make music, mistakes make it all.

Verse 12

When I’m gone, don’t clean my name,

Let it be scratched on wood and flame.

Remember this chorus I hollered true:

Mess makes me, and mess makes you.

[Pre-Chorus]

Why chase clean when dirt feels free

Aren’t the messes what really make me

[Chorus]

I’d rather live wild than die correct.

Gamble my heart, with no safety net.

Scars tell what we’ve been through,

That’s how we know our hearts are true.

Scars and stains, they make us whole,

Dirt’s the diamond inside the soul.

[Outro]

So spill it, break it, laugh at the mess,

Chaos is love in its Sunday best.

Every crack’s proof that light broke through,

Mess makes me, and mess makes you.