Congratulations to all our March/April 2024 Lyric Contest winners. Read the winning lyrics for first through fourth place, below.
CLICK HERE to enter the May/June Lyric contest.
1st Place – “Love Washes Off”
By: Michael R.J. Roth
He wears the nicotine cologne of an old French poem
Keeps the dead leaves of romance in boxes
He doesn’t know if he’s seeing the light
Or if his eyes are adjusting to darkness
He remembers his fingers tracing her skin
Seeking something deeper than flesh
Thinking, what kind of braille is this
And wondering, what kind of blindness
There’s a scar on his heart he can’t peel off
That she left there when she flew away
And Don Quixote’s last words were lost
In the breath of a windmill in Spain
Chorus:
Between the broken oaks and the boats
On the beach of a storm-ravaged bay
He stands on the shore in an old navy coat
While his love washes off in the waves
The dried apricot of Van Gogh’s ear
Is covered by dust on the floorboards
The remnants of love make a strange souvenir
And stranger when you start to hoard them
He wakes on a destitute morning
To the taunt of a mockingbird’s call
He says, I miss you most of all, darling
When you don’t think of me at all
Chorus:
Between the broken oaks and the boats
On the beach of a storm-ravaged bay
He stands on the shore in an old navy coat
While his love washes off in the waves
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2024 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
2nd Place – “SUNSETS OVER MEMPHIS”
By: Mike Ellis
TYRE NICHOLS
WAS TAKING PHOTOS IN THE PARK
ADMIRING THE SUNSET
UNTIL IT GOT DARK
HE WAS EXCITED FOR HIS SON
AND HIS MOTHER TO LOOK
AT THE GLORIOUS SUNSET
IN THE PICTURES HE TOOK
THE SCORPIONS OF MEMPHIS
WERE HUNTING FOR SOMEONE TO STING
A DEATH SQUAD IN THE LAND
OF GRACE AND DEAD KINGS
THEY PULLED TYRE OVER
AND AIMED THEIR GUNS AT HIS FACE
THEY DIDN’T TELL HIM ANY CHARGES
THEY KNEW THEY DIDN’T HAVE A CASE
ALL HE WANTED
WAS TO GO HOME
ALL HE WANTED
WAS TO GO HOME
THE COPS SAID THEY BEAT HIM
BECAUSE HE TRIED TO RUN
BUT WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO
WHEN IT’S FIVE AGAINST ONE
WHEN A DEPUTIZED LYNCH MOB
HAS THE WEAPONS ON THEIR SIDE
WHEN THEY’VE GOT YOU SURROUNDED
AND THERE’S NOWHERE TO HIDE
THEY STOMPED THE LIFE OUT OF HIS BODY
WHILE HE LAY THERE DEFENSELESS
FOR THE CRIMES OF BEING BLACK
AND LOVING SUNSETS OVER MEMPHIS
THEY STOMPED THE LIFE OUT OF HIS BODY
WHILE HE LAY THERE DEFENSELESS
FOR THE CRIMES OF BEING BLACK
AND LOVING SUNSETS OVER MEMPHIS
DID THEY PULL TYRE OVER
CAUSE HE LOOKED OUT OF PLACE?
DID THEY THINK IT WOULDN’T MATTER
ON ACCOUNT OF HIS RACE?
DO YOU THINK THAT A WHITE MAN
WOULD HAVE MET THE SAME FATE?
THE LAW AIN’T COLORBLIND
IN THESE UNITED STATES
ALL THE COPS SAW WAS A TARGET
THEY NEVER SAW TYRE
THE FATHER, THE SON,
THE SKATER, THE HUMAN BEING
HOW MUCH MORE INNOCENT
DOES A BLACK MAN HAVE TO BE
TO SURVIVE A TRAFFIC STOP
IN THE HOME OF THE FREE?
ALL HE WANTED WAS TO GO HOME
ALL HE WANTED WAS TO GO HOME
AND THERE WON’T BE ANY JUSTICE
NO MATTER HOW LONG THE SENTENCE
THEY CAN’T UN-KILL THE MAN
WHO LOVED SUNSETS OVER MEMPHIS
NO THERE WON’T BE ANY JUSTICE
NO MATTER HOW LONG THE SENTENCE
THEY CAN’T UN-KILL THE MAN
WHO LOVED SUNSETS OVER MEMPHIS”
3rd Place – “Shotgun”
By: Jason Hardy
Daddy, oh Daddy, I’m swallowed in rage.
There’s blood in my eyes; I can’t see straight.
Daddy, I’m scared I’ll start swinging my fists.
Tell me how you hold back when you’re feeling like this.
Oh my son, when rage comes upon me
And offers to give me a ride,
Well, I let my rage ride shotgun,
But I’m sure as hell gonna drive.
Daddy, oh daddy, I’m a lake of desire
For riches, for pleasure—it’s drowning my mind.
Too much ain’t enough; I’m a bottomless well.
How do I save this old world from myself?
Oh my son, when desire comes upon me
And offers to give me a ride,
Well, I let desire ride shotgun,
But I’m sure as hell gonna drive.
Daddy, oh Daddy, my fear is like ice.
It’s frozen my mind, put my heart in a vice.
The path of justice is dangerous and steep.
I’m too scared to move; fear has frozen my feet.
Oh my son, when fear comes upon me
And offers to give me a ride,
Well, I let my fear ride shotgun,
But I’m sure as hell gonna drive.
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2024 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
4th Place – “Back of His Hand”
By: Gabby Patrice Boyle and Marielle Kraft
VERSE 1:
You should see him when he smiles
The way he lights up every room
Dancing to 500 miles
Telling me he’d walk it too
Ya I hold his biggest secrets
And he holds my biggest fears
Any problem, we can beat it
As long as I’m right here
He really gets me
Then it hits me
CHORUS:
He knows me like apologies I give when he’s hurting
He knows me like the plans I drop to show up at his doorway
He knows the right movies to play when I’ve had a hard day
And that every time he leaves he knows I’ll stay
Yeah he knows me
And I know him
like the back of his hand
VERSE 2:
I know he doesn’t mean it
When he trips over the line
I believe in second chances
So I give them every time
My dad didn’t warn me
they weren’t all just like him
But if this finish line keeps moving
Its impossible to win
It’s not supposed to be easy
And then it hits me
CHORUS:
He knows me like apologies I give when he’s hurting
He knows me like the plans I drop to show up at his doorway
He knows the right movies to play when I’ve had a hard day
And that every time he leaves he knows I’ll stay
He knows me like the number he calls to reach my sister
So she’ll tell everyone that I’ve picked a winner
He knows I still believe that he can be a better man
Yeah he knows me
And I know him
like the back of his hand
BRIDGE:
As he backs out my driveway
Outraged
I’m feeling for the door
He heads for the highway
No brakes
I can’t breathe anymore
When he said he can’t live without me
I didn’t know to what extreme
we’re spinning out
Then slowing down
His arms across me now
He starts to cry
And apologize
There won’t be a next time
Another lie
Cause I know him
CHORUS:
I know him like apologies he gives when he hurts me
I know him like the flowers that’ll show up on my doorway
I know the words that he’ll say, to make it go away
And his promises to change that make me stay
He knows me
I know him
Like the back of his hand
TAG:
You should see him when he smiles
The way he lights up every room
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2024 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
Honorable Mentions:
“Tomorrow Will Come”
By Doc Strassberg
“Anniversary”
By Mike Conley
“HEROES”
By Debra Kim Wolf
“Gotta Get Back to Movin’ On”
By Jean Anne Cogdell and Bill Davie
“tequila or you”
By Natalie Witt and Nicole Witt
“French Cafe”
By Michael McNamara
“He Isn’t Yours to Love”
By Kelli Cates
“God, The Devil, & Me”
By Steven Huff
“New Year, New Me”
By Daniel Foshee and Marcus Hooper
“Granddaddy’s Truck”
By Marshall Watkins
“Ballad For the End of The World”
By Michael Gorey and Kelli Miles
Very disappointed in the winning choices, especially first place.