Sean Owen is the Sounds Like Summer Lyric promotion winner for his song, “Flip-Flops and Alibis.”
Speaking to American Songwriter, Owen revealed that he penned the tune “in the voice of a man talking himself out of a heartbreak with one more drink and one more story.”
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“I based him on somebody real, a scuba diving instructor I knew when I lived down in St. Thomas, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. I wrote it in first person, like I was standing in his sandals,” Owens said. “He’s charming, a little bit of a mess, selling everybody the same line about how he’s doin’ just fine, right up until the last chorus, where he finally admits he isn’t. It’s a beach song with a hangover underneath it.”
When he came across the contest, Owens knew his song perfectly fit the bill.
“‘Flip-Flops and Alibis’ is about as summer as a song gets—beach, barstools, and a guy who’s sunburned on the outside and heartbroken on the inside,” he explained. “So when I saw the Sounds Like Summer promotion, it felt like the song had found its window. Some songs just want a certain season, and this one had been waiting on summer.”
Read on to learn more about Owens.
Sean Owens Q&A
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SONGWRITING? WHAT GOT YOU INTO MUSIC IN
THE FIRST PLACE?
I’ve been writing seriously for the past few years, although there’s been a guitar in my hands off and on since I was a kid. My grandfather, a South Pacific WWII Navy veteran, bought me my first one. I wrote my first (terrible) song in my head at 14 while I was mowing his
backyard.
My road here took the scenic route—journalism school, a handful of different jobs, then veterinary school and years as a university professor, publishing a good pile of scientific
papers. Different worlds, but they all involved writing.
I approach song lyrics like a journalist: I want the who, what, when, where, and why in there, the real details, so a song feels like something that happened to somebody instead of something somebody made up. Mostly, I want people to feel something true, even if the story isn’t theirs.
WHAT HAS WINNING MEANT TO YOU?
Honestly, it means a lot. I was camping in the mountains of eastern Oregon—no cell service to speak of—when I hit a little pocket of signal and the email came through telling me I’d won. Not a bad view for news like that.
I put everything I’ve got into these songs. Having writers of the caliber American Songwriter brings in actually sit with something I wrote—and then pick it—meant more than the win itself. It tells me the hours are paying off. Most of all, it’s got me excited to write the next one.
WHAT SONGWRITERS AND ARTISTS DO YOU COUNT AS YOUR BIGGEST
INSPIRATIONS? WHY?
Two camps, really. The front-porch camp—Guy Clark, Will Kimbrough, and especially
Matraca Berg, whose “You and Tequila” is one I wish I’d written. Guy Clark set the bar for me. His songs are where I learned what small, true details can do. That’s the thing I’m always reaching for—the one thing in a scene that makes it feel real.
Then the beach camp—Jimmy Buffett, and these days Jesse Rice and Erica Sunshine Lee, who are keeping the flame lit. I spent some time living in the islands, where trop rock is the backing track for a lot of everyday life. Buffett showed me a song can be fun and still hurt a little, which is about what I was going for here.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR PLANS IN 2026.
Keep writing and entering the American Songwriter contests, for a start. Past that, I’d love to get some of my stronger songs demoed properly in Nashville, with the kind of session players and singers who can turn a rough idea into a real record. I also want to start co-writing. I know I’ve got plenty to learn. The fastest way I can think of to get better is being in a room with writers who are further along than me, doing a lot more listening than talking. I’m planning to make some trips to Nashville this year to start finding those rooms. If a chance came my way, I’d jump at it, and be grateful for it.
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST CAREER DREAM?
What I dream about is standing off to the side of a stage and watching an artist take one of my songs, put their own fingerprints on it, and sing it to a crowd—and then hearing that crowd sing it back. I can’t think of much that’d beat that. And the part right after sounds almost as good: sitting in the green room and getting to listen to the players and singers talk about the work.
WHAT WOULD YOU TELL OTHER ARTISTS WHO ARE CONSIDERING ENTERING THE CONTEST?
Enter—and then keep entering. What I appreciate most about American Songwriter is how
much it does for new and aspiring writers, folks who don’t have a name yet or a way in. It’s
been in the songwriters’ corner since 1984. It gives you a real chance to get your lyrics read by working writers. I’ll admit, that part isn’t easy. Putting a song I’d sweated over in front of people who really know the craft was nerve-racking. But as my wife always reminds me, you can’t win if you never send it in.
Read Sean Owens’ Contest-Winning Lyrics for “Flip-Flops and Alibis”
She left hot pink sunglasses on the dash of my old truck
Just a five-buck reminder I done used up all my luck
Left lipstick on my pillow and lime wedges on the floor
Said “I’m done with all your lies” then walked on out the door
Now I’m sittin’ on the beach watchin’ breakers hit the sand
Tryin’ to make some sense of where it all got outta hand
My friends down here all worry say I’ve lost my mind
They all roll their eyes when I tell ‘em I’m doin’ just fine
I keep spinnin’ barroom stories till the truth gets left behind
’Cause down here baby we get by…
On flip-flops and alibis
What started as a weekend somehow turned into a year
Livin’ on stolen kisses underneath that old beach pier
Then every promise that I made up and washed away
Like the number on a cocktail napkin I got yesterday
Now a lonely pair of flip-flops sits outside my front door
‘Cause I’m still sellin’ stories she ain’t buyin’ anymore
My friends down here all worry say I’ve lost my mind
They all roll their eyes when I tell ‘em I’m doin’ just fine
I keep spinnin’ barroom stories till the truth gets left behind
’Cause down here baby we get by…
On flip-flops and alibis
Last night I danced on the bar with someone’s brand-new bride
Just one more reason darlin’ you ain’t standin’ by my side
One day I’ll face the bitter truth but I ain’t gettin’ there tonight
Got a barstool view and a long-neck buzz and both are feelin’ right
My friends down here still worry they swear I’ve lost my mind
I finally tell ’em “Boys I ain’t doin’ all that fine”
She was lookin’ for the truth I kept sellin’ her my lies
Turns out a man can’t live forever…
On flip-flops and alibis
Flip-flops and alibis…
Photo by Dori Borjesson