March/Apr 2023 Lyric Contest
Congratulations to all our March/April 2023 Lyric Contest winners. Read the winning lyrics for the first through fourth place, below.
CLICK HERE to enter the May/June Lyric contest.
1st Place – “Christine”
By Lacy Green
Lyrics:
V1
Christine was pristine as a white collared shirt
Spent Sundays singing in the choir at church
Where the preacher would teach her the husband comes first
And the congregation said amen
V2
Christine was fifteen and left in a lurch
How do you say no when they taught you to serve
And the boy down the street claims it’s what he deserves
And the politicians said amen
CHORUS
Now the whole world is weighing in
On the weight that she’s carrying
But nobody’s listening
To Christine
V3
Christine was between a hard place and a rock
The boy down the street says he don’t want to talk
Walking home with a pamphlet stuck down in her sock
And the protestors all said amen
CHORUS
BRIDGE/OUTRO
The snake and the apple
The rib from his side
The Marys and Marthas
The mail-order brides
The father, the son
And the holy duress
The shade of your lipstick
The length of your dress
The placebo pills
And the purity rings
Victoria’s Secret
Anti-aging creams
The sluts and the spinsters
The sweet ingenue
The pepper spray keychain
The burden of proof
The things that they say
The things that they mean
And how nobody’s listening
Nobody’s listening to Christine
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2023 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
2nd Place – “Sky Without Stars”
By David Taub
Lyrics:
You never recover, you only adjust
What you remember is just never enough
Some things you discover as you shake off the dust
Those forgotten pieces in the story of us
Her keys on the counter, the calendar hearts
Her voice in the shower singing both parts
The world was a tower but the shadow was ours
My life without her is a sky without stars
They say it gets better, I’m sure that it does
That sky was brighter, I’m sure that it was
Now more than ever I stare up above
With blame more than wonder but not more than love
Her dress on the hanger, the mess in her car
The times that I’d thank her when times got real hard
The world was a tower but the shadow was ours
My life without her is a sky without stars
When you’re searching for answers you’re shoveling smoke
You spend hope like currency till you go broke
The doctors’ appointments the calendar marks
Her cries getting louder, my prayers in the dark
The days spent around her, the hours apart
When the cold empty quiet knows who you are
The world was a tower but the shadow was ours
My life without her is a sky without stars
The places you’d go to
Now seem so far
No one to come home to
No plans left to start
There’s small acts of kindness then faith in a spark
A sound in the silence, a light in the dark
3rd Place – “The Old Yellow Chaise Lounge”
By Peter Sheardy
Lyrics:
That old yellow chaise lounge
Oh the stories it could tell
From laughter in the morning
To midnight tears that fell
It’s a novel bound in vinyl
With rust upon its spine
Words of Ernest Hemingway
And songs of Patsy Cline
It’s a living contribution
Of everything that’s died
From childhood and innocence
To promises and pride
Yah that old yellow chaise lounge
Was a summertime companion
For sleepin’ off a bender
Or hosting wild abandon
It was the talk of many parties
The boast of many men
The blush of many girls
But all sacred in the end
It was as humble as a cradle
Regal as a throne
Perfect to hold a couple
Or just right to be alone
And that old yellow chaise lounge
It never gave into time
It still could make sweet music
And mumbled words to rhyme
But one day it finally happened
We all know the story well
It was not a change in weather
But a change in personnel
It wound up in a landfill
With other people’s souvenirs
And ain’t it kind of funny
It still matters all these years…
4th Place – “Fool’s Form of Torture”
By Jessie Che
Lyrics:
Verse
Diggin’ thru ash for the least burnt cigarettes
Finding ones ain’t quite done yet
He eyes a few with a shadow of a smile
The red is faded, along with time,
But he doesn’t mind
Verse
This treasure trove he mines, in a whisky glow
Should have been gone, so long ago
But it’s the only way to touch her again
So with half a dozen in his hand,
He kisses her again
Chorus
(It’s a) Fool’s form of torture
The torch he carries for her
In the silence of the lonely night
He brings her back, in a strike
N’ he burns his fingers, but he doesn’t care…..
He’ll hold onto anything……to prove… she once was there…..
Fool’s form of torture——————-
Verse
The candlelight glows off the silver in their home
Like the cross on her chest’s last breath
Is ending this the only way to free his mind?
Wishing he could see things straight
He stumbles to the safe
Chorus
(It’s a) Fool’s form of torture
The torch he carries for her
In the silence of the lonely night
He brings her back, in a strike
N’ he burns his fingers, but he doesn’t care…..
He’ll hold onto anything … To prove … she once was there …
Fool’s form of torture…
Bridge
He wakes in the sun, to what he didn’t want to see
It’s time at last to find, a new reason to breathe
Chorus 2
(It’s a) Fool’s form of torture
The torch he carried for her
Although there are quiet nights
Art glows of her living light
N’ he works his fingers
Creating things with care
Something to hold on to, to prove… she once was there…
Something to hold on to, to prove… she once was there…
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2023 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
Honorable Mention –
“Baltimore”
By Michael Carpenter
“The Cage”
By Stephen Austin
“Truth”
By Joanne Eisenberg
“Angeline”
By Daniel Pfeiffer
“School of Life”
By Scott Bliven
“Hey Honey”
By Lindsey Moody
“Every Song”
By Stephen Herreid
“Beauty’s In The Dance”
By Violetta Jean
“Where Rivers Used to Run”
By Darryl Rhoades
“Motel 22”
By Steve B
“Say Goodbye To The Elephants”
By Dave Nachmanoff
Photo courtesy of Lacy Green
