Session Five 2025 Lyric Contest Winners

Congratulations to all our Session Five 2025 Lyric Contest winners. Read the winning lyrics for first through fourth place, below.

CLICK HERE to enter the 2025 Session Six Lyric Contest.

1st Place – “Let it Down”

By: Samantha Slominski

Five days runnin’ that same old track
Boss man breathin’ right down my back
Coffee’s cold and my inbox is hot
But come 5 o’clock, I give all I got
Clock hits quittin’, I slam that door
Crank my Chevy, boots hit the floor

Hair’s comin’ down, wild and free
Radio singin’ back to me
Windows low, heart runnin’ fast
I’m leavin’ slow days in the past

I let it down — this hair, this guard, this weight I wear
Turn it up — the twang, the lights, that Friday air
Grab my girls, leave the week in dust
Raise a glass, go on feel that buzz
Work hard, love loud, make it count
And when the weekend rolls around
I let it down

Wranglers tight and my lips painted red
Boots tappin’ time to what the jukebox said
Sawdust floors and a neon grin
A little George Strait and I’m all in
Two-step dreams, whiskey and laughs
Feelin’ like myself at last

Laughin’ loud, swingin’ wide
Ain’t no weight left on my pride
Let the music cut me loose
Tonight I got nothin’ to prove

I ain’t fallin’ apart — I’m comin’ alive
This ain’t no breakdown, it’s a Friday high
Boot heels hittin’ like thunder now
And I ain’t slowin’ down

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:

ENTER THE LYRIC CONTEST

2nd Place – “In Ink”

By: Christopher Genzardi

[Verse 1]
They carved her name in polished stone
He wore hers on his collarbone
One will fade with wind and years
The other stays behind the tears

A soldier wrote to his little girl
A promise in a broken world
A child drew a heart in a torn notebook
Trying to mend what the silence took

[Chorus]
In ink we cry, in ink we pray
We write the things we’re scared to say
We leave a mark, we tell the truth
We pass down pain, we pass down proof
And when the voice begins to shrink
The soul still speaks
In ink

[Verse 2]
She wrote “yes” with a shaky hand
He signed his name in a wedding band
A mother framed the word “I’m here”
From her boy away
For his third year

A song was born on a paper napkin
That healed more hearts than a Sunday sermon
Not every mark is made in pain
Some are love
You can’t explain

[Bridge]
It’s in the vows, it’s in the will
It’s on the page we’re writing still
The baby’s name, the final line
The recipe
That tastes like time

It’s every word He wrote in red
To show the price for what He said
No sword was drawn, no battle screamed
Just ink that said
You’re still redeemed

[Final Chorus]
In ink we rise, in ink we fall
We write the start, we write it all
It holds our joy, it holds our shame
It keeps us honest when we change
And when I’m gone and can’t be seen
Let the world remember me
In ink

[Outro]
So write what matters.
Mark it deep.
Let the world know
you tried
to speak…In ink

3rd Place – “Greasy Spoons & Country Tunes”

By: Mark Stepakoff

CHORUS
Greasy spoons and country tunes and diesel gasoline
Heavy loads and blacktop roads and plenty of caffeine
Case of cokes, pack of smokes, a 10-4 magazine
Oh greasy spoons and country tunes, my everyday routine

Verse 1:
Think I’ll have the eggs with ham, coffee black, thank you ma’am
This truck stop service ain’t too bad, best I’ve had since Birmingham
Today I’m hauling 20 tons from Fayetteville to Galveston
Unload and then I’m off again toward Lafayette down Highway 10

CHORUS
Greasy spoons and country tunes and diesel gasoline
Day-old sub and diner grub, the finest of cuisine
Case of cokes, pack of smokes, a blue amphetamine
Oh greasy spoons and country tunes, my everyday routine

Verse 2:
Got playlists filled with cheating songs, barroom tales, done-me-wrongs
That pedal steel provides to me good company when nights are long
Whizzing past them highway signs, guardrail posts, thin white lines
Cops won’t take me by surprise, got every speed trap memorized

[Inst. Break]

Verse 3:
Got a kid in Baltimore, how old now, I’m not sure
The years flew by, his mom and I, we ain’t on speaking terms no more
I hope that there may come a day I’ll make it up to him someway
And if he asks me where I’ve been, this is what I’ll say to him

CHORUS
Greasy spoons and country tunes and diesel gasoline
From Newport News to Santa Cruz, and everywhere between
Case of cokes, pack of smokes, an eighteen wheel machine
Oh greasy spoons and country tunes, my everyday routine
Yes greasy spoons and country tunes, my everyday routine

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:

ENTER THE LYRIC CONTEST

4th Place – “That’s How You Showed Love”

By: Britney Mayfield

[Verse 1]
You didn’t grow up with bedtime songs
Or arms wide open when things went wrong
You grew up in a house with quiet hands
Where love had rules when you’re a man.
But then I showed up Wild and Small
And somehow you softened without trying at all
Memories of you on the sidelines remain…
Yelling plays, and calling my name.

[Verse 2]
You took me to work when I needed a break.
Let me spin in your chair while you carried the weight.
We didn’t say much but the quiet was kind.
I felt safe just knowing our world’s both aligned
We sang in the pews with the spotlight low,
your voice steady when mine didn’t know.
You didn’t need speeches or some perfect plan.
You just showed me love by being that man.

[Chorus]
Remember that day I had my heart in my hands?
Lauren‘s mom just broke the news,
Said they might be moving and making plans.
We begged you “please, let’s move too”
I Said, I’ll do anything. Anything for you.
And I remember how you didn’t say “no”
Just “let’s take a drive. You never know.”
We rode through a town we’d never call home
And I believed it then and I and I still do now,
That’s how you showed love without knowing how.

[Verse 3]
You saw my heart break and didn’t expect me to be fine.
You just let me cry and said “baby, it takes time”.
You drove me to his house so I could get closure
Even knowing some lessons in life leave you colder
You didn’t try to make it right
We just drove in silence hand-in-hand that night.
And I believed it then and I believe it now,
That’s how you showed love without knowing how.

[Bridge]
Now that I’m full grown with two babies of my own
And a kind of love I finally know
You gave me your time and I’ll never forget…
From learning to drive to that old swingset.
You’re my father
I’m your daughter
And I still need you like I need water
Singing beside you in front of church pews
Those are the moments I hold onto with you

[Final Chorus]
I still remember that day with my heart in my hands
Lauren‘s mom just broke the news
I Said they might be moving and making plans
We begged you “please, let’s move too”
Said I’ll do anything. Anything for you
And you didn’t say “no” Didn’t push it aside
You just grabbed the keys and said “girls, let’s go for a ride”.
We drove through a town
We’d never call home
But it felt like love when I needed it most
And I believed it then and I know it now
That’s how you showed love…
Without knowing how

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:

ENTER THE LYRIC CONTEST

Honorable Mentions:

“Borderline Carolina”
By Randy Monchick and Jon Decious

“Didn’t Deserve That”
By Megan Hutchins

“Dust Danced”
By Kevin Steverson

“Flicker of the Flame”
By Regina Vellanti

“Homegirl”
By John Arter

“New York On Your Mind”
By Paavas Bhasin

“Paper Statues’”
By Braden Higgs

“She Still Waves”
By Wesley Tibbets

“The Century Has Turned”
By William Catyb

“Whiskey and the Cross”
By Jesse Rostas

“Whiskey in the Morning”
By Jake Seiler