Turn That Dream Up Loud

I was fifteen with a radio heart

Spinnin' old records in a two-room start

Mama said, "Son, keep your feet on ground,"

But I heard my future in that cracklin' sound

Small-town nights and a secondhand mic

Chasin' big stages on a borrowed bike

Every little song, every late-night crowd

Made me wanna turn that dream up loud

I took my scars, I took my doubt

Built my name from the inside out

When the whole world told me, "Turn back now,"

I just kept turnin' that dream up loud

I was a backroad boy with a beat in my soul

A broke-down dreamer with a heart of gold

DJ lights and a producer's prayer

Tryin' to make magic from the midnight air

I fell down hard, but I stood up proud

Lost my way, but I found my sound

One day the whole damn crowd sang out

For the boy who turned that dream up loud

I worked cheap gigs in a county hall

Played to ten folks and an empty wall

Mixed my tracks in a bedroom chair

With a cracked-up laptop and a whispered prayer

Labels said no, friends faded fast

Love walked out when the money ran past

But every slammed door and every dark cloud

Made me turn that dream up loud

I had no map, I had no crown

Just a stubborn heart in a nowhere town

When the rain came hard and the lights went out

I still kept turnin' that dream up loud

I was a backroad boy with a beat in my soul

A broke-down dreamer with a heart of gold

DJ lights and a producer's prayer

Tryin' to make magic from the midnight air

I fell down hard, but I stood up proud

Lost my way, but I found my sound

One day the whole damn crowd sang out

For the boy who turned that dream up loud

Then came a song on a Friday night

Hit the whole world like a match to light

Phones lit up, my name rolled in

After all those years of almost-wins

I called my mama with a tremblin' voice

Said, "Your small-town son finally made some noise,"

She cried, "I knew you'd make us proud,"

When you kept turnin' that dream up loud

I'm still that backroad boy with a beat in my soul

A once-broke dreamer with a heart of gold

DJ hands and a producer's prayer

Still makin' magic from the midnight air

I fell down hard, but I stood up proud

Lost my way, but I found my sound

Now the whole wide world sings out

For the man who turned that dream up loud

Yeah, I was fifteen with a radio heart

Now I'm livin' every note I dreamed from the start

If you're down so low you can't see the crowd

Boy, turn that dream up loud