Read below to learn more how our esteemed panel of judges picked the winners for the Session One 2025 Lyric Contest.
Meet the Judges HERE.
1st Place – “Letting Go”
By: Brad McKinney, Kelly Walls & Troy Thomas Walls
Toby Gad: I just love songs that span over a generation and as a dad this resonates with me. It’s well written and the chorus has a little cliffhanger in the first line, “…Let you fly enough to get you fall” which is well crafted.
Sara Evans: “Letting Go” is so beautiful lyrically! It captures the bittersweet emotions of a parent watching their child grow up and move on. As a mother, the line “All a daddy knows is holdin’ on and lettin’ go” brought tears to my eyes. It’s such a heartfelt and universal truth about parenthood.
Keith Hetrick: As a new parent, the struggle of letting your kids “fly enough to let you fall” hits home, making this lyric deeply personal. The tagline, “all a daddy know is holdin’ on & lettin’ go,” is raw, vulnerable, and beautifully human—exactly the kind of lyric I love.
Jake Gosling: This lyric takes you on a journey from the beginning. The opening line is strong as it’s not one I have heard before to start a song. I think when the first line is different and stands out it automatically brings you in, which is what you want. It’s quite conversational and I like the use of everyday situations and life experiences where you experience so much joy but also the feeling of letting go.
The use of everyday words and images is strong in the lyrics throughout. and the push a pull of the “Holdin’ on and Lettin’ go” wordplay is great here.
Each verse takes you to a later event in time whereas the farther in this song explains how hard it can be to let someone you love to move on. As the saying goes “If you love them Let them go”.
Jon Shave: This lyric depicts fatherhood in a way that feels brand new. The tender balance of pride and vulnerability makes it both relatable and profoundly moving.
Trannie Anderson: I’m a sucker for story songs that make me feel something. The verse vignettes are conversational and well-crafted and the chorus hits well for me in communicating the line that must be walked in parenthood.
Read Lyrics HERE.
2nd Place – “Easier Done Than Said (Version 2)”
By: Matthew Yedlin
Sam Ellis: I like that this comes from a perspective that isn’t very common in a song or lyric. It’s obviously an uncomfortable feeling but certainly a reality and I think that can make for a really interesting lyric.
Kyle Clark: My reason for choosing “Easier Done Than Said” is that the lyrics capture the truth and humor of a man’s way of showing it’s easier to do things for the woman you love than it is to say it sometimes. The hook is clever in the way it’s flipping a common saying and relating it to love.
Jon Shave: This lyric authentically portrays a man’s struggle to express love through words. The clever hook, “easier done than said” blends humour with heartfelt sincerity. The lyrics are relatable and emotionally resonant.
Willie Watson: The writer took a common saying and built a good song around it. One that was worth the line. Very relatable to every human ever.
Read Lyrics HERE.
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2025 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
3rd Place – “Hanging This Hangover on You”
By: Paul Sharpe
Sam Ellis: Clever hook! I bet if it’s paired with a Jon Pardi style of music it would feel great. I appreciate the mainstream approach to this lyric and can feel the tempo as I read it.
Miles Zuniga: The title really grabbed me. Nice play on words.
Jake Gosling: I really like to concept of this song, it’s clever to use drinking as a sad way to reflect on the end of a relationship and the hangover being the painful truth that love is lost but it’s the only thing to hold on to.
It has dark undertones, and the words paint a visual picture that brings in the listener. The blame and rejection in the lyrics are reflected extremely well throughout the song. the feeling of rejection is compared to drowning your sorrows in a drink but you feel relatable to what he is going through.
The cowboy wants to share his pain and hurt with the audience and knows what he is doing is wrong but has given up on himself and is running away from his emotions trying to block them out and put the blame on everything else. A somber song but I like the darkness and emotions that are being discussed here and the play with the lyric “”The Hangover”” leaves you with a sense of sadness but relatability.
Read Lyrics HERE.
4th Place – “Barroom Preacher”
By: Tim O’Connell
Z Berg: My top song exists pretty far outside of my general stylistic wheelhouse, but I found the song did an excellent job of narrative world building — utilizing imagery that is colorful and imaginative, but veers away from trite. And the song has a sense of humor!
Kyle Clark: My reason for choosing “Barroom Preacher” is that the lyrics capture the power of redemption, showing how faith can transform lives even in the most unexpected places, the same way that Jesus did in the bible. I really like the way they tied the hook together, and how after the bridge the perspective flips to the drunkard now preaching to sinners in a barroom.
Read Lyrics HERE.
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