The Kind of Thing That Gets Passed Down VERSE 1 Must have been half the town lined along the creek Preacher dunked the baby and Momma kissed her cheek Christened her one of us, the strong and the proud That’s the kind of thing that gets passed down VERSE 2 Neighbors hung and shook their heads as little Janie grew She’d kick back by the barrel with the boys drinking booze Momma warned “That bottle put your daddy in the ground” And that’s the kind of thing that gets passed down BRIDGE And don’t she have Daddy’s eyes? Dark shiny opals full of pride Does her best by God to stay clean But don’t she got the trouble gene VERSE 3 Mama kept the doors locked and kept the gun unpinned But damn if that boy didn’t sneak and find a way in Nine months later Janie borrowed Grandma's Christening gown That’s the kind of thing that gets passed down BREAK BRIDGE And don’t she have Daddy’s eyes? Dark shiny opals full of pride Does her best by God to stay clean But don’t she got the trouble gene TAG Must have been half the town lined along the creek Preacher dunked the baby and Momma kissed his cheek That's the kind of thing that gets passed down
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VERSE 1 I see clothes pins holding a sundress of indigo I almost see you with your basket bending low I know the sun baked your face as you hung linen sheets Sheets that never made a bed for you to lay your swollen cheek CHORUS You used to sing mournful, soulful hymns In my home town, when this land was all cotton I can still hear your voice ride on the wind And I promise you, you are not forgotten VERSE 2 Kids now play around abandoned relics of the farm Laughing and climbing and tugging on the wood plow arm That old plow holds memories your family carried Now salted and rusted, broken and half-buried REPEAT CHORUS BREAK REPEAT CHORUS
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Following Stars VERSE 1 The night we left caution Near the edge of town We wished upon the stars and Swore to chase ‘em down We didn’t say goodbye No one would have approved Of the sparks between us flying Through the open roof CHORUS 1 Underneath that sky Our fingers intertwined I was shaking in my shoes No map, no plan, no guide And love found me that night Following stars with you VERSE 2 We laughed through Arizona With Orion on our heels We pulled off in the desert Left nothing unrevealed The night, the mood, the drive All outrageous Including me, the bride In blue jeans in Vegas REPEAT CHORUS 1 Underneath that sky Our fingers intertwined I was shaking in my shoes No map, no plan, no guide And love found me that night Following stars with you BRIDGE Years have passed since love was new A million wishes have come true And quiet nights out on the lawn We lay back and count them all CHORUS 2 Yeah, underneath that sky We’ve seen it all fly by How we played and we grew No map, no plan, no guide And love finds me at night Following stars with you
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Life Begins Right Here By Becca Bessinger VERSE 1 I know your work is never done That you hate to leave ends untied But I’m all alone and I’m waiting Baby it’s Friday night PRE-CHORUS 1 A 12-hour day, eight-hour pay Are just two reasons not to stay And I could make you see If you were here with me CHORUS By the tiki torch on our little porch With a cooler full of beer Get off the phone, get your ass home Life begins right here VERSE 2 Can't you just smell the burning coals? The jasmine vine and lime Buddy's bringing shrimp right off the boat He says they'll be right on time PRE-CHORUS 2 Tell the boss no, say you gotta go There’s more to do than he’ll ever know There’s a can to crack And some kickin back CHORUS By the tiki torch on our little porch With a cooler full of beer Get off the phone, get your ass home Life begins right here BRIDGE When we look back at all we’ve done I wanna see a whole lotta fun PRE-CHORUS 1 A 12-hour day and eight-hour pay Are just two reasons not to stay And I could make you see If you were here with me CHORUS By the tiki torch on our little porch With a cooler full of beer Get off the phone, get your ass home Life begins right here TAG Barefoot on the sun-baked wood The dancing kicks in gear Our lazy hound and good friends around Life begins right here
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Move On By Becca Bessinger VERSE 1 He says he’ll change but change is like a mountain He swears he has the guts to overcome He holds you close and begs you not to doubt him Your leaving words dissolve upon your tongue CHORUS Move on Move on VERSE 2 And so his angel wings quickly grew in And he was charming for a week or two But now more than a promise has been broken Makeup cannot hide what he's done to you CHORUS Move on Move on BRIDGE Hold your breath, count to ten Take a step, step again Get in the car, shift to drive Hit the gas, don’t waste time CHORUS Move on Move on
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You're Not Nice By Becca Bessinger VERSE I’d clean a clean house Slide things from place to place I’d fluff the couch And I’d wait You’d say you’d call I’d pace all day Near the phone on my wall Just in case CHORUS But it never did ring And I started seeing How you’d been misleading You’re not nice VERSE I went to the square Where I knew you’d be I meant to surprise you there But oh you surprised me Yeah I spotted you Kissing some Barbie doll I grabbed a box of Krispy Kremes Went home and ate ‘em all CHORUS The taste was bitter-sweeter And my mouth was never meaner I cursed you and pitied her Because you’re not nice BRIDGE Two weeks of grief and then relief ‘Cause I am better than this game And by week three I forgot your name VERSE Word on the street Is that you’ve been feeling blue When you called missing me I asked “Now who are you?” CHORUS Don’t waste time on me Jack Cause I will never be back You are not “all that” No you’re not nice REPEAT BRIDGE
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A Crooked Road By Becca Bessinger 2013 VERSE 1 My father’s cousin, Abraham, left home at sixteen Left that wooden shack with the front porch sagging and leaning Left his mama to rock her chair all day with a head full of demons He learned one thing about life there – it’s silent or it’s screaming PRE-CHORUS He cried when he said goodbye but he knew he had to go CHORUS Abraham walked away down a crooked road, a crooked road All he had and all he knows is a heavy load and a crooked road VERSE 2 Abraham made a family and I grew up with his daughters As little girls we often saw him spread out on the floor with empty bottles We never heard the voices that grew louder as he fought em His wife was barely spared as the rocking chair hit the wall at full throttle PRE-CHORUS He cried when he said goodbye but he knew he had to go REPEAT CHORUS BRIDGE When his grandchildren came along he tried to get clean Swore to be a better man than what his kids had seen But he missed it all Painting dreams, throwing ball For the love of alcohol REPEAT CHORUS
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Letters come to me Letters keep me busy Letters fill my time Arrange the page to inspire and rhyme I traded love for letters So line up lovely Dear friend, the house is still I traded my company For the quiet of letters So line up lovely I traded love for letters So line up lovely I'm counting on letters To line up lovely To line up lovely To line up lovely
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The Bird in Me V1 Take me down a dirt road To a bend in the creek where nobody knows There's a limb to hang our clothes And a stretch of blue where we can float CH Set her free, the bird in me Flyin high outside On a sheet with a drink and the buzz of a queen bee Outside her hive Set her free, the bird in me V2 Lead me up a thousand feet Laughing, don't forget to breathe Hold me til I've leaned Into blue and over mounds of green CH Set her free, the bird in me Flyin high outside On a sheet with a drink and the buzz of a queen bee Outside her hive Set her free, the bird in me BR Linen dance floor, clumsy half-dips Honeysuckle lips CH Set her free, the bird in me Flyin high outside On a sheet with a drink and the buzz of a queen bee Outside her hive Set her free, the bird in me
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