Congratulations to all our January/February 2024 Lyric Contest winners. Read the winning lyrics for first through fourth place, below.
CLICK HERE to enter the March/April Lyric contest.
1st Place – “Remind Me of Me”
By: Brenda Cay and Mitch Collins
Verse:
When I was five years old, they told me the truth
Now when I’m in a crowd, I can’t help but look for you
I keep on holding on to two things as I’ve grown
The people who love me and the mom I’ve never known
Chorus:
Is your hair blonde like mine; does it show off your dark brown eyes
And did I get your sense of humor cuz mine is kinda dry
Do you have a crazy side, cuz there’s nothing I won’t try
I’m looking for a woman I feel like I’ve seen
I’ll know when I find you; you’ll remind me of me
Verse:
Is your style a summer sundress or faded blue jeans
Do you look in the mirror and try to picture me
I’ve got no complaints, I’ve been given so much
But I often ask how come, how come you gave me up
Did you want me, or did you want to let me go
I’d like to think you did your best, but I may never know
Repeat Chorus:
Bridge:
Do you reminisce and wish you could change the past
And do you ask the same things I ask
Repeat Chorus:
Tag:
Yes you’ll remind me of me
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2023 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
2nd Place – “Dear Mr. Johnson”
By: Ryan Sanderson
It was down in Mississippi with no moon in the sky
Where a legend was born beneath the darkness of night
A young man alone at the crossroads he knelt
Strumming his guitar a covenant made with hell
Robert Johnson if the story can be believed
He played the blues so hauntingly and sweet
A stir of echoes every time he plucked a string
While ghosts danced and weaved among the sycamore trees
Dear Mr. Johnson, is what they say true
You sold your soul to forever play the blues
In the heart of the Delta the wind still cries your tune
Down at the crossroads the devil still calls for you
In the bars where folks gathered to listen to him wail
He sang about love lost in vain and hellhounds on his trail
With fingers on the frets each note he let ring
The verses a cry the chorus a plea
With a heart full of grief for the price that he paid
Eternal fire the cost for glory and for fame
Haunted by his deal til the end of his mortal days
But oh that guitar he sure could make it play
Dear Mr. Johnson is what they say true
You sold your soul to forever play the blues
In the heart of the Delta the wind still cries your tune
Down at the crossroads the devil still calls for you
From Clarksdale to Memphis his legendary gift
A deal with the devil is it a warning or a myth
To trade an eternity of shadows over light
Dragged below to where the sun never shines
The dark lord will claim what he’s rightly won
But the bluesman’s music plays on and on
Old Scratch may think the deals done
But Robert Johnson’s memory lives on and on
Dear Mr. Johnson, is what they say true
You sold your soul to forever play the blues
In the heart of the Delta the wind still cries your tune
Down at the crossroads the devil still calls for you
In the heart of the Delta the wind still cries your tune
Down at the crossroads the devil still calls for you
Down at the crossroads the devil still calls for you
Dear Mr. Johnson, the devil still calls for you
3rd Place – “Borderline”
By: Kevin Harrington
Borderline
I pulled out of Portland town with something on my mind.
In the mirror, harbor lights were falling far behind.
Westward to the mountains is a lovely, lonely climb,
searching for the winding stream that forms a borderline.
Watercolor mountains, rumbling, rolling clouds,
tributary fountain down where mist fell like a shroud.
It doesn’t really matter where I’ve been or what’s behind.
I’m just searching for the winding stream that forms a borderline.
There was something about her, Lord.
I did all that I could.
I brought her wine, songs to sing
and poems from the wood,
but I’m not really running from a love long lost behind.
I’m just searching for a widening stream that forms a borderline.
Morning into afternoon, I drove through a cold, dark rain
until I reached Route 91 and saw Vermont again:
arm of sun through ancient hills like the reach of God in time
to guide me toward the wond’rous stream that forms a borderline.
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2023 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
4th Place – “Last Moving Day”
By: Greg Frazier
V1
The open door pierces the darkness
As our childhood comes in view
A home left waiting for return
From a mother who left too soon
We survey her belongings
Decide what to save or sell
Reminders of family ties
Each one with a story to tell
CH
Memories made, memories lost
Time is a bridge that we all have to cross
Boxes filled with a life gone away
Here on your last moving day
V2
We pull down the portraits
From the nicotine walls
Faded reminders
Of when we were small
Pack up the books
That she read until dawn
And a yellowed yearbook filled
With friends already gone
CH
Memories made, memories lost
Time is a bridge that we all have to cross
Boxes filled with a life gone away
Here on your last moving day
Bridge
The house stands a shell of all we have known
Stripped of its soul it’s no longer a home
Sorrow hangs like mist in the dusty air
We shed our tears and laugh out loud
And pass the bourbon bottle ’round
Raise a toast to the woman we wished were still here
CH
Memories made, memories lost
Time is a bridge that we all have to cross
Boxes filled with a life gone away
Here on your last moving day
Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2023 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:
Honorable Mentions:
“Just Point My Feet Towards Texas”
By Bill Black
“Walls and Fences”
By Richard Abels
“Your Dash”
By Richard Hughes
“Home By Dinner”
By Shawn Chambliss
“Rhythm of the City”
By Ben Diamond and Bob Osgood
“The Otherside”
By Tom Franklin
“Everything Changes But My Love For You”
By Kevin Afflack
“Don’t Step Over Dollars Picking Up Dimes”
By Jonathan Smith
“The Couch”
By Kevin Martin
“The Legend Of Caney Boyd”
By Bryant Bibb
“Love Ain’t Supposed to Hurt”
By Dwayne Collins
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