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Congratulations to all our January/February 2021 Lyric Contest winners! CLICK HERE to enter the March/April 2021 contest, deadline January 15 @ 11:59 PM CST.
1st place “Some Boys Grow Up To Be Soldiers” (Read Q&A with Brian) By Brian Estes Ellsworth, ME He waves his flag like a martyr He bears his sins like a cross He wears his skin just like armor He'll never admit what it cost He walks with a chip on his shoulder He carries his burdens alone Some boys grow up to be soldiers And some of them never come home There once was a time when he loved her The promise was sealed with a kiss And sometimes he’s soft like the water But sometimes he’s hard like a fist He can't feel a thing when he holds her As if he was carved from a stone Some boys grow up to be soldiers And some of them never come home His heart wasn't always so broken His head wasn't always so hard Most of his words go unspoken Most of his memories are scars Each day he’s a little bit older But the ghosts just won’t leave him alone Some boys grow up to be soldiers And some of them never come home It seems like she's staring right through him From a picture that sits on a shelf He's almost glad that she left him If only he could leave himself Each day he's a little bit colder 'Til one day he's cold to the bone Some boys grow up to be soldiers And some of them never come home
Are your Lyrics as good as Brian’s?
2nd place “The Lower 9th Ward” By Joe Black Denver, CO Just an old kid’s sneaker In the middle of the road Filled with soot and silt and remnants Of a Delta motherlode Like it was looking for its partner Like it was looking for its soul Like it was somehow going to run again Kick a ball or score a goal And if I live to be a hundred My eyes and ears they will record The horror and the helplessness Of the lower 9th ward The jack hammers they were pounding A hideous metronome Bearing witness to the rhythm of this urban catacomb Like a funeral procession A second line of funk Sideways stepping, almost dancing There were jewels among the junk And the relics and the riches And the concrete never pored And the total devastation Of the lower 9th ward BRIDGE: And the garbage piles And the hope exiled Like the quick denials After claims were filed And the crows up in the treetops Silhouetted in the sky With their salvage operation Saw it coming from on high There were miles of desolation There was writing on the walls There were bodies that were waiting There were never answered calls As we gazed out on the rubble Our silent witness underscored The shame and the salvation Of the lower 9th ward 3rd place “No Justice No Peace (This Pain)” By Mose Stovall and Jason McKay Birmingham, AL No Justice No Peace No Justice No Peace No Justice No Peace Now let me sing my song Let me Tell you about pain You said a change is gonna come But we've been waiting for forever and we still ain't seen one They don't tell us real facts y'all They keep their knees on our backs y’all How much more do they think we can take Over four hundred years and we still can't catch a break Chorus I got this burning down in my soul And this pain won’t let me go I've been feeling it for ah while Since the day I became my mother's child Repeat Chorus Jim Crow and slavery That ain't the way it's supposed to be No vote for you and no vote for me Segregation for the world to see They used bombs dogs and water hoses To try to keep us down So we marched and we're still marching on Just to keep our ground Repeat Chorus See im a whole man, I got a whole plan And I'm gonna carry this thing out, til I'm a old man Not gonna back down no more Not gonna lay down no more I'm gonna stand tall give it my all And I’m gonna let my soul glow I'm feeling like Sam Cooke I think a change gonna come But it want come until me and you stand together as one I think I’m M L K, Fred Shuttlesworth Who is you to tell me what my life is worth Oh yeah I'm so official Walking like I'm Presidential Ain't got to tell you my life matters my life is so essential So put your hands up Divided we gone fall We just wanna see liberty and Justice And Justice for all Repeat Chorus 4th place “Learning” By Daniel Morrow Mechanicsburg, PA Verse 1: I used to speak in riddles then, but not ‘cause I was clever I was scared of my own darkness, Man I’m anxious now as ever But I’m learning how to look it in the eye, content right now to say I tried to try Growing up in Oklahoma, we were Baptist as a hymn And we believed all that they taught us about judgement, death and sin But I’m learning now, the truth gets mixed with lies cuz true faith begins and ends with asking why Chorus: I like to think of you up there with those ‘90s highlights in your hair And that Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt still in style I let of the whys and whens, the should’ve knowns and the could of beens ‘cause you cannot love the world and hate it’s turnin’ It’s what I’m learnin Verse 2: That ol fiery red Camaro, going 80 down the road And that look your daddy gave me, when we had to have it towed We couldn’t even look him in the eye, we just stared up at the Osage County sky After I went off to college, we lost track like people will I Heard you moved in with your mama, somewhere south of Jacksonville When your sister called and told me how you died I’d be lying if I said I was surprised Chorus: I still like to think of you up there with those ‘90s highlights in your hair And that Teenage Fanclub t-shirt still in style I let go of the whys and whens the should’ve knowns and the could have beens Cause it’s hard to build a bridge you’re busy burning It’s what I’m learning Bridge: Sometimes it’s best to fall into a mystery when wondering why ain’t come to bear I admit sometimes it feels like ancient history and other times I can almost feel you here Chorus: I like to think of you up there with those ‘90s highlights in your hair And that Smashing Pumpkins t-shirt still in style I’ve let go of the whys and whens the should’ve knowns and the could have beens I believe that peace will soon replace the yearning It’s what I’m learning…it’s what I’m learning, I’m still learning Honorable Mention “No Man’s Land” By Jonathan Schaier Virginia Beach, VA “It’s Someone Else’s Problem (‘Til It’s Not)” By Thomas Lehe Palmer, AK “Anna Milena” By Patricia Malek Edinburgh, SCT “Advanced Beginner” By Noam Weinstein Cambridge, MA “The Masquerade” By Jon Haukaas St. Louis Park, MN “Who Knew Love (Could Sound Like This)” By Zach Henard, Hal ODell, Greg Wilson Nashville, TN “Play Me A Love Song” By Paul Walker Eccleshall, ENG “You’re Pretty” By Marc Williams Waterloo, ON “Hillside Is My Lover” By Luke Collins Dartmouth, NS “Last Night’s Makeup” By Kennady Tracy Nashville, TN
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