3rd Place | “Lonely Ride”

3rd Place
“Lonely Ride”
Jeff Maddox
Pearl, Mississippi
www.americansongspace.com/goodganny
A hundred miles to go, on this lonely ride
Destination New Orleans, reasons undefined
A bitter cup of coffee, a notebook by my side
These empty pages tell the tale of the way I feel inside

I stop in Ponchatoula for a refill and a smoke
I thought I heard your voice, but it must have been a ghost
I crush out the cigarette, and head back down the line
There’s always more miles ahead, than I left behind
On this lonely ride

I cross that Pontchartrain, and my memory starts to stir
I recall the night on Decatur Street, when I fell in love with her
But now she is gone, and I cannot call her mine
Her memory rides shotgun, on this lonely ride

Ol’ St. Louie I sit beneath your lofty cross
Say a prayer for me while you pray for the lost
‘Cause many tears I’ve caused, and many shall be cried
The road goes on forever, on this lonely ride