A Q&A With the Shamrock & Roll Lyric Contest Promotion Winner, David Corey

David Corey is the Shamrock & Roll Lyric Contest promotion winner for his song, “Ruining Saturday.”

Speaking to American Songwriter, Corey revealed that he penned the tune after a comment to a friend sparked a weekly joke between them.

“When I first moved to Philadelphia about dozen years ago, I met a guy who quickly became one of my closest and most joyful friends,” Corey said. “He was the type of person who lived fully in both an emotional and hedonistic sense.”

“One Friday night we were drinking at Dirty Frank’s, our local dive bar, and he asked me if I wanted another round. I shook my head and said, ‘If I drink too much on Friday, I ruin my Saturday.’ He howled with laughter,” he continued. “From that point forward, at the end of each week, he’d always text ‘Wanna ruin Saturday?’”

After his pal died, Corey wrote the song in his honor.

“My friend was an actor and theater director,” Corey said. “The Oscar Wilde reference would have made him smile.”

Read on to learn more about Corey.

David Corey Q&A

WHAT FIRST GOT YOU INTO MUSIC?

It was the Partridge Family that first had me imagining myself as a musician. Most boys wanted to be Danny (effin’ bass players, amiright?), but as the youngest of three in my own home, I identified most with little Chris behind the drums. In the fifth grade, I chose snare drum as my school instrument mostly because I wanted to bang on things.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SONGWRITING?

I wrote my first song when I was fifteen, so more than 40 years ago. It was a terrible mess. I was a drummer for a high school rock band in the mid-1980s. A friend gave me her family’s old upright piano. I never tuned it, but I banged out chords like only a drummer can. I taught myself simple triads, scales, and eventually wandered down the music theory rabbit hole. It was all about keeping up with my more musical friends in the band, to contribute to both the music and the conversations around the music. 

WHY DID YOU ENTER AMERICAN SONGWRITER’S SHAMROCK & ROLL PROMOTION?

I entered this song on a lark. I’ve entered other lyrics in the past, including a 4^th place honorable mention in 2024, but this was entirely on impulse when I saw the AS post on Instagram about the drinking song lyric contest. “Ruining Saturday” has always been a personal favorite lyric of mine, so I submitted it on the spot. 

IS THE SONG YOU SUBMITTED INDICATIVE OF THE KIND OF MUSIC YOU WRITE?

It’s on the boisterous end of my writing spectrum, but it is an example of my interest in both story and strong hooks. I’m a rock guy in my soul. I write in a variety of genres, including rock, jazz, soul, Americana, and country, but I find country and Americana give me the most room to develop lyrics that lead the song. My best work seems to blossom there.

WHAT DOES WINNING THE CONTEST MEAN TO YOU?

Though I attended Berklee College of Music in the late 1980s, majoring in songwriting, I dropped out after two years. From there, life took over. I never lost touch with my musical creative side, but marriage, children, career, and simple time kept it from being my focus for decades. I’m now an empty nester and I’ve doubled down on my creative time dedicated to songwriting. Now, I’m writing a new lyric every few weeks, and a new completed song every few months. I feel as if I’m at the peak of my creative output. To have that recognized by professionals in the industry is both deeply affirming and damned fun.

WHAT SONGWRITERS AND ARTISTS DO YOU COUNT AS YOUR BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS? WHY?

Jim Croce caught my attention even as a kid when he first charted in 1973. He could be funny, playful, loving, and heartbreaking with his words. “Operator” is a crisply visual punch in the gut. Others lyric influences include Bernie Taupin, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, and Neil Peart. I’ve also been influenced by musical theater lyrics and the story-advancing approaches they use. It’s nice to hear lyrics acted rather than simply sung.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLANS IN 2026.

More songwriting and recording, for sure. I plan to seek out more collaborations with other songwriters for my lyrics (including this one) and hire vocalists for about a half dozen demos I have ready to go. I’ve never done remote track recording, so I’d like to try that out. I recently joined the Philadelphia chapter of NSAI, as I’d like to network more.

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CAREER DREAM?

I would love to have a creative hand in a charting song. I love collaborating with others, so simply widening my community of music writing creatives is also part of this larger dream.

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL OTHER ARTISTS WHO ARE CONSIDERING ENTERING THE CONTEST?

Keep shoveling that coal. Have confidence in your work. None of this means you’ll win. Rejection has a way of hammering out your skills, your creativity, and yourself. I’ve written many hundreds of lyrics. I’m proud of about 10 percent of them. Of that 10 percent, only a few are getting through. If your song wins and gets recorded, even the most successful songwriters face bad odds on the song charting. So keep shoveling that coal. Writers write.

Read David Corey’s Contest-Winning Lyrics for “Ruining Saturday”

My phone lit up
About a quarter to five
You said I’m lifting tall boys
Down at our local dive
I have a seat with your name
And I’ll hold it until you arrive

I said the time’s not good
And my money is tight
Yeah I gotta work late
I’m on the outs with my wife
What’s one Happy Hour
When there’s just no end in sight?

You said if work is the curse
Of the drinking classes
Let’s find a cause to celebrate
And raise our glasses
It’s Friday night—
It’s time to wash
This week down the drain
Live for tonight
Sacrifice tomorrow
You can toast a life of happiness
Or drown your sorrows
It’s Friday night—
And there’s only one
Hand left to play
So let’s ruin Saturday—

You kept on texting
So I silenced my phone
But it hummed on my desk
Man it drummed in my bones
There’s a seat with my name
While I’m sittin’ here all alone

Though the time’s not good
And my money is tight
I gotta slow down
And start living my life
Give me one Happy Hour
When there’s just no end in sight
Man so pour me a pint!

Yeah if work is the curse
Of the drinking classes
Let’s find a cause to celebrate
And raise our glasses
It’s Friday night—
It’s time to wash
This week down the drain
Live for tonight
Sacrifice tomorrow
You can toast a life of happiness
Or drown your sorrows
It’s Friday night—
And there’s only one
Hand left to play
So let’s ruin Saturday—

Yeah if work is the curse
Of the drinking classes
Let’s find a cause to raise the roof
And shake our asses
It’s Friday night—
Let’s slay the week
And dance on its grave
Live for tonight
Sacrifice your sorrows
Celebrate the moment
You can rest tomorrow
It’s Friday night—
And there’s only one
Rule left to break
So let’s ruin Saturday—

Photo by Jill Mullin