This track comes from Aaron Stransky's core identity — Folly Beach roots, 843 area code, the raw unfiltered version. It tackles A love letter to South Carolina, the state flag, the resilience of the palmetto, and how Aaron found his identity here. The lyrics get specific — "With a Navy duffel bag and stories in my mouth" — because personal tracks on Majik's are personal for real, not performatively. The country production matches the energy of the confession. It hits proud and warm, in that order. Every personal track in the catalogue comes from a real moment, a real feeling, a real person. This one is no exception.
[verse 1]
Crescent moon and a palmetto on the navy blue
That's the flag that flies over everything I grew
Into since I crossed the border heading south
With a Navy duffel bag and stories in my mouth
About a life up north that didn't fit quite right
Like a uniform that's tailored for a different fight
But South Carolina wrapped around me like the Spanish moss
Hung heavy on the live oaks, covering the loss
Of everything I left behind with something better
A palmetto state of mind, come rain or heavy weather
[chorus]
Palmetto state of mind, that's where I'm living now
Bent but never broken, like the tree that shows you how
To weather every hurricane and still stand tall
Palmetto state of mind through the spring and through the fall
I'm a transplant rooted deep in Lowcountry soil
Palmetto state of mind, this is home from all the toil
[verse 2]
The palmetto bent but didn't break, that's on the record
British cannonballs bounced off the fort, that's why it's treasured
And I feel that in my bones because I've been through storms
That should have snapped me clean but I just changed my forms
Like the palmetto, flexible but anchored down
Now I'm CTO of a palmetto-shaded town
Folly Beach, where the palm fronds frame the sunrise
And the salt air is the best antidepressant, no surprise
To anyone who's breathed it in at six AM
When the beach is empty and the world's just you and them
The pelicans, diving for their breakfast in the foam
Palmetto state of mind, I'm finally home
[chorus]
Palmetto state of mind, that's where I'm living now
Bent but never broken, like the tree that shows you how
To weather every hurricane and still stand tall
Palmetto state of mind through the spring and through the fall
I'm a transplant rooted deep in Lowcountry soil
Palmetto state of mind, this is home from all the toil
[bridge]
I didn't grow up here but I'll grow old here
I didn't plant my roots but now I hold here
To every tradition, every hey y'all, every sweetgrass basket
Every boiled peanut stand, you didn't have to ask it
I chose this life and this life chose me back
Palmetto state of mind, there's nothing that I lack
[verse 3]
So when the hurricanes come knocking, and they do
I board the windows up and ride it through
Because that's what palmettos do, that's what we do
Bend with the wind and start again brand new
Aaron Stransky, Lowcountry by choice
Navy veteran with a Southern voice
Building tech in a town that runs on tradition
That's my palmetto state, that's my condition
And I wouldn't trade it for a zip code anywhere
The crescent moon is up, the palmetto's in the air
[chorus]
Palmetto state of mind, that's where I'm living now
Bent but never broken, like the tree that shows you how
To weather every hurricane and still stand tall
Palmetto state of mind through the spring and through the fall
I'm a transplant rooted deep in Lowcountry soil
Palmetto state of mind, I'm home from all the toil
[outro]
Bent but never broken
Palmetto strong
Carolina forever
