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1st place “Don’t Waste the Rain” By Chuck Thomas I’m just an old oak with a pretty good lean And I might look strong but my roots are weak I wear lots of rings that you can’t see No there aren’t many seasons left in me Now I stood tall back in 18 and 65 The day soldiers mustered by my side Those boys used my trunk to fight behind I took bullets as their mamas cried And don’t waste the rain Don’t waste the rain on me Let it fall on the desert Let it flow to the sea Just let me go Leave me be And don’t - - - - - Don’t waste the rain on me Yeah I’ve got breaks and I’ve got scars Some caused by wind and some are carved Like James plus Mary inside a heart One of many love promises in my bark Now if lightning strikes me down some day Splits my soul in two turns my leaves gray Please gather the limbs and carry me away Then build a chair to sit carve a cross to pray And don’t waste the rain Don’t waste the rain on me Let it fall on the desert Let it flow to the sea Just let me go Leave me be And don’t - - - - - Don’t waste the rain on me Let’s celebrate the young Those I’ll leave behind Just shower them with love Watch them grow with time And don’t waste the rain Don’t waste the rain on me Let it fall on the desert Let it flow to the sea Just let me go Leave me be And don’t - - - - - Don’t waste the rain on me I’m just an old oak with a pretty good lean And I might look strong but my roots are weak
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2nd Place “The Collector (I Found These Things)” By Benjamin Diamond A golden lion with a ruby jaw A stickpin panda with an opal chest A smuggled Cuban out of Panama A birthday card wishing all the best A candle dish with tears of wax The knife my dad gave when I was ten A bright red ball without the jacks A rifle bullet from I-don’t-know-when I found these things, but none of them will do I found these things, I can’t find you I found these things, I can’t find you A tail-less monkey from the Rock of Gibraltar A picture of me from Kuala Lumpur A letter from you about my old boss Walter Gonna keep your note right in this drawer A box of matches and some cheap cufflinks A leather wallet from the Netherlands A Montblanc pen and a cartridge of ink Mardi Gras beads and your wedding band I found these things, but none of them will do I found these things, and I’ve lost you I found these things, and I’ve lost you BRIDGE I’m a fool, he made me travel for a living Love is cruel! Lonesome wives are not forgiving All these keepsakes on my bedside-alter I’m left with memories, you left with Walter A jewelry box of inlaid wood Bought for you in the south of Spain Some Turkish coins and a watch that’s no good Half a heart on a golden chain A silver billfold from Mexico A baby shoe and a ten-pound note My friends all ask, “Well, where’d she go?” “I’m with Walter now” is all you wrote 3rd Place “Different Light” By Michael McGee Verse 1 You like to go out I like to stay home You’re crazy bout, Elvis I’m more Haggard and Jones You love ballet I can’t stand it We share a 30-year mortgage But not the same planet Chorus We see things in a Different Light You’re the sun, I’m the moon But that’s all right As long as our love keeps on shining bright We can see things in a Different Light Verse 2 You like Tae Bo I like Tai chi We both exercise The right to disagree I hate going dancing You hate going fishin’ We share a five-year-old son But not the same solar system Chorus Bridge: But the differences don’t keep us apart Love ain’t where you’re from it’s where you are. Verse 3 You like decorating I like to work in the yard You turn on Oprah I tune into NASCAR You like going shopping For me, it’s a curse We share a used ’99 Saturn But not the same universe Chorus 4th Place “Barns Fall Down” By Greg Poulos There’s plywood on the windows of my favorite five and dime Where my daddy used to buy me candy once upon a time I haven’t been here since that day in 1962 Before the fire choked away the hope that we once knew There’s craters down on Main Street where I used to ride my bike And where I had my first true kiss by the blinking traffic light The only thing that’s left here now are the memories we made And the echoes of a lifetime built with all the love we gave ‘Cause barns fall down, down, down And bridges crumble into dust But all the love we learn to give Becomes a part of us It heals all the heartache And the sorrow with its touch Barns fall down and bridges burn But love remains with us Oh ashes, ashes on my pillow, ashes in my head Some are easy to shake off and some will linger til I’m dead But the sweetest love that I know came from going through some hell And I’d go back one more time again before my last farewell Honorable Mentions “More Than Enough” By Kathy Wallace “End Up Town” By Blake Bard “Don’t Wait” By Boyd Perttu “This Is Not A Love Song” By Gerald Lenoir “Julyin’” By Greg Wilson, Michell Canning, Bill O’Hanlon “Before the Color Dried” By Jeff Dayton “Losing Mama Every Day” By Paul Bethel “Lewis Prison Blues” By Hardy Smith “Shootin’ the Breeze” By Matt McTighe “Hang On Let Go” By Blake Bard
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