January/February 2022 Lyric Contest Winners

Congratulations to all our January/February 2022 Lyric Contest winners! CLICK HERE to enter the March/April contest.

1st place

“Blue September Morn”
By Rich Deans

When we came up from the subway, the sky was filled with smoke
There were people up on balconies, who must’ve thought it was a joke
Paper flew down from the sky, like dirty snow it fell
And I could hear the car alarms ringing out like Christmas bells
And I stood there like a statue, like an orphan in a storm
‘Til someone dragged me up the street
On that Blue September Morn

Well I guess we should have known it, I guess we should have seen
The dark clouds that were gathering, above our field of dreams
We were young and brash and flush with cash
We were bold and brave and proud
We were talking like Americans, a little bit too loud
But I never saw it coming; no I can’t say I was warned
And the sky has never looked the same
Since that Blue September Morn

Bridge
City lights and lots of laughs, a sudden sound, a brilliant flash
Faces freeze like photographs and no one says a word
Silver rain on summer grass, silver planes, and broken glass
Not everything is built to last, although we wish it were

So wave goodbye to the spacious sky and the boys in their uniforms
Wave goodbye to the days when all the lines were clearly drawn
And raise your glass to the working class
The hook and ladder crews
They tried their best no questions asked
They just did what they had to do
While out there in the harbor
In a dress faded and worn
She still waves to the passing ships
On a Blue September Morn

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2nd Place

“Love You Like June”
By Beau Morgan

Verse 1
Take anything and call me in the morning
Momma said love sneaks up without a warning
But I never knew it came so fast
Momma didn’t mention that
I was a one-man band yea a rolling stone
Stuck between lonesome and being alone
But you ain’t just a face in the crowd
Girl, I can see it now

Chorus


I can see us laid out now
Hanging out on riverbank
Hands In mine
riding ‘round on a quarter tank
As soon as you’re gone yea I miss you
Let’s make the whole thing official

And I can sing you old love songs
That you prolly never even heard
Mess em all up
Cause I only know a couple words
But that never seemed to bother you
If my name was Johhny
I’d love you like June
I’d love you like June

Verse 2
Take this ring and wear it if you wanna
That smile you got makes me think you’re gonna
Even if I can’t make the payments
Cause she still thinks that I’m famous
Ain’t it a wonder she’s sticking around now
She even cooks and she cleans while I sit on couch
And I’m working on an old love song
She just sings along

Chorus
I can see us laid out now
Hanging out on riverbank
Hands In mine
riding ‘round on a quarter tank
As soon as you’re gone yea I miss you
Let’s make the whole thing official

And I can sing you old love songs
That you prolly never even heard
Mess em all up
Cause I only know a couple words
But that never seemed to bother you
If my name was Johhny
I’d love you like June
I’d love you like June

Bridge

I got two tickets now to a old sunset
Everyone liner wrote that you ain’t heard yet
It’s you that I wanted to carve my name
In a heart, in a tree, on a perfect day

Chorus 3
And I can see us laid out now
Hanging out on riverbank
Hands In mine
riding ‘round on a quarter tank
As soon as you’re gone yea I miss you
Let’s make the whole thing official

And I can sing you old love songs
That you prolly never even heard
Mess em all up
Cause I only know a couple words
But that never seemed to bother you
If my name was Johnny
I’d love you like June
I’d love you like June



3rd Place

“I Wish You Could Stay”

By Chris Bickel

Footsteps on a cold stone floor
Rain pounding on the roof
This house, it ain’t a home no more
Wildflowers were the proof

The memories rise to meet me
Like an old friend passing by
Head in my hands, I think of you
I think of you and cry

There was nothing I could do
Nothing I could say
I know it’s time to let you go
But I wish that you could stay

We’ve both been through so much
Seems our lives were always hard
But I didn’t think that it was time
For our two souls to part

I watch as they lay you down
Though you’ll always be mine
I stand alone in this field of stone
Where they’ve laid my heart in pine

There was nothing I could do
Nothing I could say
I know it’s time to let you go
But I wish that you could stay

Footsteps on a cold stone floor
Rain pounding on the roof
This house it ain't a home no more
Wildflowers were the proof



4th Place

“These Two Hands”
By Jim Chalker

My granddad was a woodcarver
Never had a lot to say
But what he spoke came through his hands
And it took your breath away
He owned an old worn set of tools
Used to chisel as he stood
And he could carve a symphony
From a simple piece of wood

Chorus
And he lived each day like it mattered
Did all that one man can
He was humble, yet he could hold his head
Just as high as any man
And he taught me life’s a challenge
And how to make my stand
‘Cause everything he ever owned
He earned with his two hands

My father was a mason
Made his name in brick and stone
You could see his work all over town
In all the finest homes
As straight as any laser beam
The courses that he laid
And everybody marveled
At the beauty that he made

Chorus
And he lived each day like it mattered
Did all that one man can
He was humble, yet he could hold his head
Just as high as any man
And he taught me life’s a challenge
And how to make my stand
‘Cause everything he ever owned
He earned with his two hands

And me I play this old guitar
I have since just a boy
In these two hands, it’ll make you cry
Or make you sing with joy
I can fill your head with songs of praise
I can fill your heart with chills
The work ain’t always steady
But it always pays the bills

Chorus
And I live each day like it matters
And I’m doing all I can
Cause I learned from guys who understood
What it means to be a man
And I know that life’s a challenge
And I’ve learned to make my stand
And everything I’ve ever owned
I earned with these two hands

Bridge
You know I never wore that cap and gown
Didn’t choose to go that road
But I’m doing fine with these hands of mine
Always carried my own load

Chorus
So I’ll live each day like it matters
And keep doing all I can
And I’ll raise my son to know what’s right
And how to be a godly man
‘Cause it’s true that life’s a challenge
But I rise to its demands
So I thank God for what He did
When He gave me these two hands



Honorable Mentions

“Death Does Stand Up”
By William DeRaymond

“I’ll Take It From Here”
By Dale Allen Pommer, Bobby McCormick & Janice Gilbert

“Letters”
By Brad Mays

“Paper Airplanes”
By Brian Sutherland, Devin Barker, & Rob Ricotta

“She Ain’t Finished With Me Yet”
By Lauren Smith

“Goodbye Song”
By Jesse Wilson

“It Never Turns Out That Way”
By Rob Ramsey

“Born Here All My Life”
By Bill O'Hanlon & Greg Matthews

“Early Morning Hours”
By Ed Seifert

“His World Is Getting Smaller”
By Randall Burrows

Have a Groundbreaking Lyric? Enter American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest today