Lori McKenna

[Verse 1] Well here's what I know: Even when she's sleepin' She's still dreamin' about you That's the way that it goes Even when she's laughin' Part of her is worryin' 'bout somethin' she didn't do [Chorus 1] She only sits four minutes, she's a hummin...

What am I to do with my afternoons What am I to do with my evenings Without you, without you I've never gotten used to these endings You must have thought it better for us both You thought it would be fair to let me choke What am I to do with my aftern...

I turn the lights on in the hallway Walk down the stairs without a bit of grace TVs on and the weather man says It's just another sunny day Open the curtains in the bay window Look at the neighbors we don't get to know All the cars are in the turning lan...

She’s crying again You lay quiet on her chest She knows you’re a dangerous comfort But you haven’t broken her heart yet She wants to feel safe again She thinks that you understand Maybe it’s crazy maybe it’s brave Either way it’s a losing game She’s...

Well the sky might fall and I'm Chicken Little yelling While I am floating out to sea Well I am tugging at your ear for some attention Don't you give a damn about me? I'll be the first to say there's a child inside my body Can't pay the bills but I can s...

I should have told you I sold my soul to an angel. I should have told you this world is not my own. I should have wrapped you, wrapped you like a present. I should have gotten to you before you were grown. I should have whispered in your ear when you were...

(Verse) It’s an old song, but I still know all the words It’s an old ring, but it fits when just wrapped It’s an old picture of us hanging in the hallway We walk by it every night House is gone, I need a new roof this summer They closed down the drive in...

No strangers in this town No one moves without making a sound You live and die within the borders and lines No one dies without paying their fines No lovers in this town The moon's full but it sure ain't round And just because you lie in his bed Don't...

This is cold and dark, this place You are broken, what will replace The hole that has been dug here Emptiness left where Once I was so aware Aware of you You are quiet, you are meek Unlike me so indiscreet I am plainly alone Once you open up, you close I fe...

If I could buy this town, I’d keep it small and rough, Full of 3rd shift dreamers, And high school love... I’d keep the Church of Christ, And the bowling alley open Where the Bud Light signs Crackle while they’re glowing, If I could buy this town......

The number to the house is on the door But every time you open it as if you are not sure If you even live here anymore, Anymore... I know what you're about to say I know that look there on your face But I'm tired of reading your mind this way So why do...

Praise the neon lights The store's not closed up yet Now everything's alright so get your cigarettes Leave me with the house Leave me with the kids Leave me to myself that's what you always did I'm sleeping with the cowardly lion Poison in your bloo...

The ladies line up once they hear you are singing, each batting an eye like they did long ago. Now times moves so slow. Veronica is still the one of your favor. Your first wife you say as if there were many more. There is only her... Will you dance with...

I don't deserve anything I get Things just come easy to me Like the sun in the morning on a blanket of clouds And other things that you don't see And I don't deserve my family I am the youngest and they all love me And I don't feel pain But I don't feel free...

don't tell her that I drink tea and not coffee I'd prefer if you didn't talk at all about me even in a brief casual chat don't tell her how I loved your smile, or things like that don't tell her how I was your best friend don't tell her how it could never wor...

Well, I’ve been thinkin’, like you’ve been drinkin’ But, I know thinkin’ is the last thing on your mind. But, I’ve been hopin’, to get this out in the open. And hopin’ we ain’t runnin’ out of time. The book I’ve been reading says we need to work this out....

Saturday felt like October Red on the ground, blue in the sky We are on fire for the wrong reasons Fists in my hands, tears in my eyes But I should be off somewhere feeding the angels Who will take care of them while I'm away It's not that they can't li...

Before you met me I was a fairy princess I caught frogs and called them prince and made myself a queen. Before you knew me I traveled around the world I slept in castles and fell in love because I was taught to dream. I found mayonnaise bottles and poked ho...

I went to high school with that kid He was even strange back then The type whose eyes don't leave the floor - blend in with the cement Well, I felt so bad for that kid One day I saw his face turn green And as he tumbled to the floor the thought of reachi...

Would you sell your soul for someone just to talk to? Would you close your eyes if I told you not to look? I don't deserve a single thing I want so Take it for granted What's gone has been took Well, someone hurt you and I'm sorry that you're lonely. If you w...

[Verse 1] Well, I don't know Where the cool kids hang on Friday night Used to park our parent's car by the billboard sign They tore it down years ago to build a small highrise It's abandoned now And it's been that way for a while, sometime [Verse 2] I...

I was born a sickly little child, I nearly died just after my birth. Five years I fought the illness, My mother prayed and prayed for what it's worth. At that time we traveled along, back home to Ireland. I took sick and the doctors admit I should have died...

[Verse 1] Halfway Home Well, you ain't so sure he's the one 4AM and you drive alone With last night's clothes on Halfway home Tell yourself you're still strong Wondering what's so damn wrong With needing someone [Pre-Chorus] Calling the lovelorn gir...

[Verse 1] Happy people don't cheat Happy people don't lie They don't judge or hold a grudge They don't criticize Happy people don't hate Happy people don't steal All the hurt sure ain't worth The guilt they feel [Chorus] So if you wanna know the sec...

Well I know your life has been hard I see it in your eyes and I feel it in your heart When your eyes move down to the floor And your mouth changes shape, and your voice sounds sore I can hold you close in my arms And tell you that you're special And that you t...

Ain't going to sell my soul, well I'm not that dumb Things are never what they seem. Down at the cross roads I got better things to sell, I'm going to sell some of my dreams... Going to package them up, Two for a buck, And with any luck I'll buy me some Holy...

Well, Forget about Paris or the Pacific Ocean The honeymoon lasted 24 hours And was a town away.... Then it was you and me In that little apartment Eight months before the baby came.... Well, some people's blessings come in disguise Oh, but yours and m...

Don't judge me, I will judge myself. I will lie in my bed at night wide awake or asleep. I will feel pain when I know I have given it. Everything I put out to the world I know comes back to me. But when angels hear the devils callin' and my vision's...

You knocked those pictures right off the wall I slammed the bathroom door so hard it doesn't close right at all Last week we broke my mother's favorite serving plate All just casualties of a love that's lost it's way You and I baby, don't even know how to...

[Verse 1] Know there's a light that glows by the front door Don't forget the key is under the mat Watch how the stars shine Always stay humble and kind Go to church cause your mama says to Visit grandpa every chance that you can It won't be wasted time...

You never woke up beside a stranger But you never spent the night alone In your jacket is a flask of Southern Comfort In your pocket you got a comb, I know you - I know you. You've been pushed right to the limit Lived on a lonesome road Chopped up an o...

I can fall in love in the middle of the afternoon With the TV blaring in the very next room I fall in love again at the end of a raging fight The kind that keeps us staying up all night Chorus: Baby, I'm not crazy I just love the way you look at me Bab...

It’s finally breaking me down To my credit I feel like I held on as long as I could I barely recognize myself now I’d teach my heart to lie if I thought that it would I don’t need the whole world to think I’m special I don’t need him to hang the stars in...

[Verse 1] If whiskey were a woman She'd do her best to get you drunk Lie quietly beside you Watch you sleep [Verse 2] If weed were a woman She'd fill up both your lungs Get you higher than you thought You could ever be If whiskey were a woman [Ver...

Well I've come to know the look on your face When you're lying about where you've been Or how much you spent I know when you will raise your fingers to your mouth As if to wipe away the shame It's not a game, I know you feel bad If you ask for my forgi...

Well I can hear you whisper as you're holding your breath I can crawl deep inside of you and bring out what is left Now I need to be grounded, how you need to see the sky You have the wings to master and have the soul to fly What does love mean to you While I...

It's easy when you smile We can talk a while Just lie here in my arms Safe and warm Outside the night is so unclear Stay here And everything will disappear It's easy when you laugh Troubles cut in half Where I will go without you? I don't know Outside the ni...

I know jealousy is a terrible roommate I know judgement's a hard friend I have seen the look of anger again and again and again. I want to be warm and happy, Don't want to find myself cold. I want to feel so young and pretty, But I feel so old. Preach...

I spend my whole life climbing ladders Playing catch with the stars A million miles away from disaster And invincible unbreakable hearts I spend my life floating backwards And not because I want to be free I have no choice I must surrender Close my eye...

I am 6 years old in the back of my mother's car and I will be 7 in December She will be gone by the beginning of next spring and I will be left to remember To remember I ask my little questions and she laughs a little laugh But she won't tell me where...

[Verse 1] If it comes from the whiskey, then pour me a drink If it comes from the heartache ,let me feel the sting If it comes from the spirits, set 'em loose in this room Either way tonight it's just me and the truth [Chorus] I wanna pray like Jesus is...

All the geeks from high school go on to become rock stars All the others reach their peak and then don't know who they are You can always find them at the bar downtown talkin' 'bout the old days You bully boys would chase him down the halls of that sch...

The kitchen smells like orange peels Her stomach turns like a spinning wheel Put the baby down in her little seat You should rest now ma’am you should eat It ain’t right you been working all day All us kids getting in your way So she goes to bed as soon...

(Verse) I thought I was the setting sun All along I didn’t need no one I don’t know where all was lost Love can put it back When I breathe out nothing comes back in Shell of myself, bones and skin Loose tooth in the faded scream I never learn to cry...

Well don't waste your time Don't allow him distractions If you have to close your eyes But don't wait for a reaction Don't stop to breathe And don't wipe your mouth You won't be misperceived I'll figure it out But whatever you do For whatever it's wo...

There's a hole wearing through this couch of mine And all the cushions are falling out One little piece at a time You might see yourself in me But I don't see nobody I know This isn't the way I figured it would be When I figured it a long time ago There's a r...

It's Monday afternoon and I'm drinking again And I know I promised you that the Lord would be my friend But the Lord and I don't get along so very good He doesn't speak a word out to me Like you promised that he would And I'm telling you I wish I was a b...

I'm on my way to the new storefront just on the east side ten bucks to renew whatever hope you lose first and then i'm alright and everyone there defends on their faith and i can't breathe i'm as afraid of the things that i'd say as i am the things ins...

(Verse) More wishes than a thousand hearts can count for you More smiles than the Merry Go Round The speed is standing to a bedtime story told My love follows you where you go More laughter than a kindergarten hour to play One Sunday morning song that sa...

Everybody loves my sweetheart Everybody loves my man All the other girls wish they had his heart All the other girls do everything they can Everybody loves my baby Everybody loves my boy All the women drive me crazy Telling me how they want to take awa...

You and I for so many years It's just not that easy to pack up the tears and the pain And forget We just can't end it when I'm not through with it yet We build our walls and divide And it's so much simpler when we don't have to decide Who is right... as if i...

When the angels came down did they give you a choice Would they have let you stay where you were? Not to live here in pain, should not bring you shame And the light is so hard to deter Did the gates of Heaven look just as you thought? Did sister Mary describe...

The space between stars, A dark place that sometimes heavies a heart, I let it hold mine. I didn't know what I would do But now I know you... I put it behind me And learned to be happy I busied my life Found someone to hold me It was the best love my...

She wore a borrowed dress nobody wanted back She looked pretty as a picture in a magazine ad Her daddy walked her down the isle and that was that No going back now They said they'd keep on driving till they smelled the ocean His arm so proud around her t...

[Verse 1] You can have him I hope you have fun I guess wife number three Could be the one But it won't be long Till you won't be new And he'll be at downtown Trying to find someone To make the mirror stop tellin' the truth [Chorus] Old men, young w...

Once you saw the sun following me you knew I'd never be the one to fulfill your prophecy How dare I love you, what gives me the right Baby give me one kiss goodnight... We lie on our backs and the sun is fleeting You never promised me the world and if y...

They're building up big houses Back behind the school Where we used to drink our beer on Friday nights And pretend that we were lovers in your car We can't afford to live there So we drive on past their marble and glass Hoping that this blue collar town...

"Mary is an angel," says a 5-year old's wide eyes "You are the oldest person I've ever seen," Mary sighs "These are the wings I made you so you can fly When you get to heaven tell my grandmother I said hi," She's on the fifth floor balcony She sees hea...

One thing I've never learned is how to give up So it's my destiny to bear this fate They say that I'm still young but I'd better hurry up And they're talking 'bout change And it's a little too late I'm really not just jumping to conclusions It's all a matter...

[Verse 1] Someone said "Youth is wasted on the young" I spilled every last drop of time that summer in the sun My daddy had a Timex watch Cigarette in his hand and a mouthful of scotch Spinnin' me around like a tilt-a-whirl on his arm [Chorus 1] Houses...

I have been a poet all my life With really not too much to say So you can push me anywhere you like But you can't push me away My life is written down on papers in my room And yours is bottled up somewhere So I'll send you letters from half across the moon An...

Colors confuse you Light in your eyes will abuse you You are weak and hollow Blinded by beliefs that I cannot swallow The world will condemn you Your beliefs will release but never defend you You are cold but you boil You are lower than dirt but not worth the...

In the depths of the deep blue sea There's a blue as blue as me Where a quiet symphony plays for the lonely I could just let it all go Sink down to the world below Where I don't breathe but I don't know Cause I'm breathless When it's love It will rai...

They say it ain’t complicated Any fool can understand Until the fuse is lit and It blows up in your hand It all looks good on paper Step by step, you follow the plan In the sky watch the desperate vapor Til It blows up in your hand Love is rocket sci...

He sits still legs crossed at the kitchen table only lost in his gin and tonic and the smell of afternoon cigarettes She's mastering the way she dances in between sideway glances Words that would come in vivid colors if she let them slip off her lips Gener...

Ruby's shoes would take her A mile or so to school every day Where the white people hated her They'd scream and hold signs and tell her to go away But Ruby's will was stronger Than the bigots with the signs could ever know She stopped every morning on the cor...

I pay for my room And i try to forget it It’ll kill me I knew The memory, if I let it Hearts don’t fly but they can run like hell when we have to I didn’t leave you a note I didn’t leave you a photo I didn’t leave you a chance But I left you, I guess...

(Verse) Don’t leave me is all I hear you say Somehow it keeps me from all the plans that I’ve made Your promises sparkle, I tell myself not to believe The things that I want lose out to the one that I need (Chorus) Time does not waste itself A dream ca...

(Verse) You should be able to sleep at night You that I know used to have light in those eyes When you breathe in, it shouldn’t hurt You should be living the life you deserve (Chorus) I know the world just repeats itself And I know you’ll never feel an...

Laundry hangs by a wire in our yard but I've no desire to go and pick it off one shoulder at time But I must, how it calls me Broomed out the rugs in the hallway Another day again, not a moment goes by But I've left my head in your jacket Could you ch...

(Verse) Downtown dinner, doors are locked Old man got no way to talk And complain about tomorrow’s rain That tore down the little white church A big mall grew out of the dirt A bigger lawn, a parking lot This town is getting smaller and smaller (Choru...

The dog is barking the coffee is cold And I didn't sleep last night The say is still young but I'm one more day old Those kitchen towels used to be white Oh starlight star bright What the hell happened to you I've wished and wished night after night B...

It's late enough all you kids should be home The policeman says as he takes your beer for his own You remember wondering what his wife Thought about his occupation He knows that you were just chasing a dream To the town line and then back and over again...

St. Peter says “You picked a real good day” Your lungs fill back up with air - your worries float away Jesus smiles - he’s a handsome man He’s taller than you thought - eyes so warm - reaching out his hand In the Holy Kingdom angels sing a hymn For all y...

Thanks for meeting me here I know it's late but I've been up all night I got the strangest feeling that my worst fears might be right Someone said that they saw him with a woman and she wasn't me And he's staring off in the distance and he's talking in...

(Verse) Susanna, what’s he gonna do without you? When you know he’s not meant for this world alone Susanna, who’s he gonna sing to now that you’re gone? (Chorus) Cause you never come back from a love like this And I’ll never forget the taste of your lip...

You say you think you can help me Think of me as someone who bleeds Well I never told you to love me That's your sort of greed I can make my own decisions I can do what I want to do And I don't have to share my addiction With any of you I'll be just fi...

Next time he tries to leave I’m gonna help him to the door Won’t be no sorrow from me cause there’s no sorrow anymore I tried like hell to make him happy but lord I’m no magician Just don’t know what happened to my sweet disposition... My daddy and my sis...

(Verse) When you’re some place just out of reach or worse When you’re lost among the stars When you’re drifting all upon a memory Search in your secret heart (Chorus) Take me with you when you’re gone I want to walk beside you now We’re not meant to b...

When you take the train to midtown to have coffee by yourself Pull the pictures from the drawer and put them back up on the shelf When you hear the sound of church bells And they don’t make you wanna cry And you’re not getting drunk just so you can hide...

[Verse 1] There's a bird making coffee in the kitchen And there's a rifle out back smoking cigarettes He don't ever really feel like talking It don't matter what she says [Verse 2] And the bird is always dreaming out the window Looking at that big wide...

[Verse 1] The Fixer comes home one night Tinkers with the kitchen light Tells his wife to find something to eat Kisses her cheek softly [Verse 2] "Are you cold," he says, feeling her hand Leaves ginger ale on the nightstand She's too tired to take a s...

Once you're up on the ledge there's only one way down So I'll keep you up there where you're safe and sound My knuckles are white Your ankles are red As you dance from your height and I lie on the ledge The killer in me likes to see you cry The kill...

[Verse 1] We wanted to know when we'd be free What life looked like on the other side of that sanctuary Believin' somehow we'd make them proud Knowin' the sins they made and figuring we could stay on common ground [Verse 2] Cigarette smoke in an August...

You know when I’m coming home You know when I’m coming to bed You know when I tell you that I love you I mean every word I said You know I’m a bit too proud You know that I know how to pray You know I won’t give this up unless I have to give it up You...

My life is a grocery store line A “We’ll be just fine” Don’t know how we survive, but we do My life is an early spring snow The last thread of hope That I just keep hanging on to My life is pieces of paper that I’ll get back to later I’ll write you a...

I had no warning I had my heart, my body, my head Life turned in that circle My heart had the say You were so pretty You were the boy with the smile all his own Whose hands made me dizzy When they touched me that way And if you tell me You love me,...

I could have walked around the world a couple times I could have swam across the ocean and back again Made a wish on every star that Galileo drew For all the time I've wasted on you I could have downed a million beers in Mexico Counted every piece of gra...

[Verse 1] The tree grows where it's planted Roots wide underneath No matter how many storms pass it The apple never falls far from the tree [Verse 2] The tree reaches up with its branched Spring-time comes, blossoming Early autumn the leaves are danci...

[Verse 1] Well keep a Bible by your bed even if you never read it Like a candle in the drawer in case the lights go out Keep your feet on solid ground but don't ever let the stars go That way you'll always know the way back home [Verse 2] Keep a Twenty...

Ithought he'd love me forever How forever is easily said Oh, how love is like liquid Liquid over my head. All I wanted was to love him So I gave him my heart. The first thing I learned about love is Things break when you tear them apart. Will you love me when...

Two Solders Coming Home by Lori McKenna I'm sitting in 12B I got a window seat All I wanted was a couple hours sleep A woman;'s voice came on the intercom She said "let's hear a round of applause for" Two soldiers coming home Returning to their families They...

Well now I can see the stars There's no difference between Jupiter and Mars. There's a light between the garden and the sea Don't let it fall away from me. You were only there 'cause I can't forget the things you wear Or maybe it's the color of your h...

Understated, overrated site - carnival ride Curtains faded, thread bill rugs real nice -the baby stayed up all night How wonderful rhinestones on black satin shoes How beautiful the one's I never get to use No frills, no fuss, perfectly us - unglamorous...

Tell me once that you love me, love me Tell me lies that you'll call but I know you won't I know you don't All you want is to meet discretely To make sure you don't still love me And talk over coffee I have cried your name so many times What's one more...

Someone was crying and the bells ring Then I don't remember a thing You were talking but the words came - from somebody else Someone said kiss her and so you did I was smilin' like a little kid You kissed my teeth and then we both hid - inside each other'...

I can see clear through your thoughts some times I know I can When you say you need more time And you think that I'll under stand Well you can put your finger to your nose You can tell me just where I should go Then you can fly And I'll wonder why What if I c...

[Verse 1] Well, I get dressed in the dark each day You used to think that was so sweet By 6AM I'm in the car driving I keep my change in the car ashtray I haven't smoked in years and years But lately I've been craving [Chorus] I don't know how to pull...

Well, I left your life by the side of the road I got a clear conscience, decoded the code Your bags are packed, you're already gone That's the last you'll hear of me Move on, Move on... I got a 'For Sale' sign and a brain in my head I have paid my dues,...

I'll find you on a better day When wings of yours can fly away Sometime when my smile can say All a heart need say I can find you anywhere In every life I'll find you there Just give me time to make it clear To steal a soul away Well I can see the sun in win...

When I woke up late, I overslept into my life So now it's 5pm But to me it feels like noon time I gotta get up, gotta go out Like some weird dream I just can't figure out No one wants to see A grown woman have to cry But it's not far to fall When on...

Whiskey-breath don't faze her anymore She don't mind sleepin' alone She got over all of that a long, long time ago Whiskey-breath don't faze her anymore [Chorus] She got wiser every time you lied Sobered up every time you got drunk Every time you were...

Well, they ain’t gonna make a movie About a couple of fools like us No one’s gonna write a book About our little love You don’t get your picture on the local front page For falling in love at a reckless age, No,no... For saying I do when you’re 19 In...

[Verse 1] I will watch you fold all your clothes Sort them carefully into rows Spray the soap from the bathroom tile Cut the threads off the kitchen towel I'll wash the dishes in the sink I could do it all in my sleep Make the beds and mail some bills...

[Verse 1] Sittin' on the roof to get closer to tomorrow Didn't know enough to be scared All you'd have to talk about is where you're gonna go And what it's gonna be like out there Out there [Verse 2] You carryin' around half of what God gave you And h...

Well, she lives a few doors down Says she wants you to take her out Have some coffee somewhere - just some coffee You saw her out in the parking lot And any plans you had you can break so wash your face - let yourself go Everybody is a sinner Everybody...