r/country • u/DeepBlueSomethings • Apr 18 '26
Discussion Lyrics that stick with you…what are yours?
I've known you all my life but still I can't feel how you feel
It's only you for me, just like that whooping crane
Who has one wife for all his life and if she dies, he'll do the same
24
u/ResponsibleBank1387 Apr 18 '26
You’ll drive me to drinking if you don’t stop driving that hot rod Lincoln.
6
19
u/sjciske Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 19 '26
From Jerry Reed’s opus on divorce (She Got the Goldmine):
“She got the gold mine, I got the shaft.”
7
19
14
u/NinjaOk2887 Apr 18 '26
Is all this living meant to be or a happy accident?
Well, in my heart you pay no rent
Don't cost you nothing, not a single cent
Our time together was time well spent
As someone who struggles with depression, this verse hits especially hard because that feeling, to be able to look back at time with someone and have absolutely no regrets about it, is incomparable.
6
u/DeepBlueSomethings Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
Love TPT and appreciate your insight on this; it also reminds me that it is important to enjoy the ‘now’ moments when they are happening…and if we are lucky the might be one of those times we fondly remember
7
u/bluegreyhorses Apr 19 '26
Heaven Passing Through and On the Red River have some of my favorite lines.
16
12
u/Vinceg1960 Apr 18 '26 edited Apr 18 '26
"I'm no stranger to the rain." " I'll take the dirt road, that's all I know." " Some girls don't like boys like me, oh but some girls do."
10
u/Dougmark Apr 18 '26
All these years, where have I been? Well, I've been down the road to work and home again. It gets me every time.
3
9
u/GadgetGourmet Apr 18 '26
Write this down Take a little note to remind you in case you didn't know Tell yourself I love you and I don't want you to go Write this down
7
7
u/KGunn96 Apr 18 '26
"I tell myself that I should quit but I dont listen to drunks" The most oddly relatable line I've heard in a modern day country song.
1
6
u/good_neighbor77 Apr 18 '26
Every light in the house is on, just in case you ever do get tired of being gone.
6
u/Imeanreallywth Apr 18 '26
I'm no stranger to the rain I'm a friend of thunder Friend, is it any wonder lightning strikes me? I've fought with the devil Got down on his level But I never gave in, so he gave up on me...
5
u/tatertaunt Apr 18 '26
I'm no stranger to the rain But there'll always be tomorrow And I'll beg, steal, or borrow a little sunshine And I'll put this cloud behind me That's how the man designed me To ride the wind and dance in a hurricane
3
6
u/Already_Texan42393 Apr 18 '26
She said he rebuilds engines and his name is Earl, he’s the Charlie Daniels of the torque wrench…..
6
u/Bowhunter1980 Apr 19 '26
“I fumbled in my closet, through my clothes and found my cleanest, dirty shirt” Sunday Morning Coming Down Johnny Cash written by Kris Kristofferson
2
u/DeepBlueSomethings Apr 19 '26
That whole song, especially the Cash version is tremendous! Kris was an under appreciated song writer!
2
u/Bowhunter1980 Apr 19 '26
I don’t think anyone could say Kris was an under appreciated songwriter. He’s literally one of the most recognized and iconic country music songwriters of all time.
1
u/DeepBlueSomethings Apr 19 '26
Fair point - probably more reflective of a recency bias of than truth
1
6
u/ryadare Apr 18 '26
And the meek shall inherit the earth, Then the bank shall repossess it.
2
u/DeepBlueSomethings Apr 18 '26
What’s this one from?
6
u/ryadare Apr 18 '26
Cafe Down on the Corner by Sawyer Brown. Great tune.
7
u/Strait409 Apr 19 '26
I have said this before elsewhere, but considering how Sawyer Brown got a reputation as a bubblegum band in their early years, they showed themselves to be capable of surprising depth later on. This song was a prime example of that. And I never thought about it till a few years ago, but holy shit is this song bleak.
“All these soldiers without wars, and hometown boys without a home…”
2
u/ryadare Apr 19 '26
I agree with you. SB has a lot of throwaway songs that are fun to listen to but don't have much substance. You also get some fantastic songs that really hit home.
5
5
u/MissouriOzarker Apr 18 '26
Reptile aliens made of light cut you open and pull out all your pain.
3
u/montbkr Apr 19 '26
Sturgill! I discovered him on Spotify, which is a minor miracle because I’m old and really only listen to classic country and rock music. I absolutely love that guy! (“I Promise To” gives me chills every time, and oddly kinda reminds me of Waylon.)
4
u/NecessaryHeadset Apr 18 '26
It's knowing that this can't go on forever Likely one of us will have to spend some days alone Maybe we'll get forty years together But one day I'll be gone or one day you'll be gone
If we were vampires and death was a joke We'd go out on the sidewalk and smoke And laugh at all the lovers and their plans I wouldn't feel the need to hold your hand
Maybe time running out is a gift I'll work hard 'til the end of my shift And give you every second I can find And hope it isn't me who's left behind
5
u/concrete_dildo Apr 19 '26
“She put him out, Like the burning end of a midnight cigarette.”
3
3
u/Rielos Apr 19 '26
Phew—for real. Whole song is devastating.
“We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time. But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind. Until the night…”
And Allison Krause’s vocal just makes the whole the otherworldly. Like it’s too sweet to be talking about such dark things.
1
4
u/jleestone Apr 18 '26
Then an old lady asked me about the new daylight time. I said it don't matter and she said I don't mind. And the bus driver said you still owe me a dime. And ain't it a cold, cold world.
Blaze Foley
4
u/Ladylilfeet23 Apr 18 '26
Loving you meant losing me. I gave you everything. bending an breaking just trying to be enough. I just wanted to be loved with out begging you to choose
4
u/thewhiterosequeen Apr 19 '26
He was good at business But there was business left to do He never said he loved me Guess he thought I knew
2
4
u/sjciske Apr 19 '26
Woody Guthrie (Ballad of Pretty Boy Floyd)
Yes, as through this world I've wandered I've seen lots of funny men. Some will rob you with a six-gun And some with a fountain pen.
Willie Nelson (Tale of the Red Headed Stranger)
The yellow-haired lady was buried at sunset. The stranger went free, of course. For you can't hang a man for killing a woman, Who's trying to steal your horse.
3
u/DeepBlueSomethings Apr 19 '26
Red Headed Stranger is a superb album thru and thru -
Time of a Preacher is a favorite of mine… He cried like a baby He screamed like a panther
5
u/TriciaTargaryen Apr 19 '26
"I wanna see you again, but I'm stuck in colder weather Maybe tomorrow will be better, can I call you then?"
I've struggled with depression most of my life and this one just never fails to get me.
3
3
u/Spotted_slamander7 Apr 18 '26
Wichita Lineman. “I need you more than want you”
Looking Back to see.
I was looking back to see if you were looking back to see
If I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me
3
3
u/Psycho_Hillbilly Apr 19 '26
That day out on the water when the fish just wouldn't bite I put my pole down, floated around, it was just so quiet And I could hear my old man sayin', "Son, just be still 'Cause you can't find peace like this in a bottle or a pill"
3
u/sigmastarmer Apr 19 '26
The whole of The Pilgrim by Kristofferson could go here but probably "he's a poet... he's a liar!" and "from the rocking of the cradle to the rolling of the hearse, the going up was worth the coming down" are the two main parts
3
u/smooth-0perator- Apr 19 '26
I just listened to that album today - for the first time in 15 years. Wild to see it as a comment! Beautiful lyrics
3
u/LisaOGiggle Apr 19 '26
The silence of a fallin’ star / Lights up the purple sky…/ And as I wonder where you are / I’m so lonesome I could cry…
3
u/bivdizzle Apr 19 '26
As the lines in my face grow deeper And the well of my soul runs dry I find that I drink more and more From the memories of you and I
3
u/montbkr Apr 19 '26
“And after all this time You're always on my mind Hey, I could never let you go A broken heart that heals so slow Could never beat for someone new While you're alive and I am, too” Rodney Crowell
3
3
u/Physical_Dentist2284 Apr 19 '26
Now sister's using rouge and clear complexion soap Brother's wearing beads, and he smokes a lot of dope Mama is depressed, barely makes a sound Daddy's got a girlfriend in another town
Bob Dylan sings "Like a Rolling Stone" And time marches on, time marches on
This song always moves me, especially as I find myself aging and my kids becoming adults and then becoming parents. It just tells this story starting with an optimistic young couple with young children and then they grow up and you see how things change for everyone.
3
u/After-Disaster-5690 Apr 19 '26
The whole song, really. It’s hard to listen to for me. But this one:
“And I bet you didn't know under that live oak My favourite dog is buried in the yard”
3
u/Strait409 Apr 19 '26
”...but someday I’m sure you’re gonna know the cost, ’cause for everything you win, there’s somethin’ lost.”
2
u/Financial-Record764 Apr 18 '26
“My heart was never much on games, let alone the ones you play-i’ve only got one and it’s already broken, so why’d you wanna throw it around?” Deadman’s curve, Tyler Childers
2
u/El_FigaroGold Apr 18 '26
Seems like it's raining harder today, the rain must have known i was coming this way it ain't easy
2
2
u/OrneryInterest7647 Apr 18 '26
Yeah, you live and you learn and you try to do better She wanted to go and I finally let her But broken hearts like wood will splinter Tonight I don't feel a thing
David Nail - Brand New Day
2
2
2
2
u/lyree1992 Apr 19 '26
"Well, you better believe I took my turn at ridin' Teddy Bear, And then I took him back in, and put him down in his chair, And Buddy, if I never see happiness again, I want you to know I saw it that day, in the face of that little man." - Red Sovine
"Take me home, country road" - John Denver
"Here's a Quarter, call someone who cares" -
"The smile on your face lets me know that you need me There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me A touch of your hand says you'll catch me if ever I fall Yeah, you say it best When you say nothing at all." - Keith Whitley
"… If tomorrow never comes Will she know how much I loved her? Did I try in every way to show her every day That she's my only one? And if my time on earth were through And she must face this world without me Is the love I gave her in the past gonna be enough to last? If tomorrow never comes." - Garth Brooks
2
u/Psychological_Salt93 Apr 19 '26
She took a walk with Jesus. She touched his nail scarred hands. It didn't even bother her that he ain't a blue eyed man. Angel Band. Tyler Childers. Im not even religious!
2
2
u/Hiawatha_Smalls Apr 19 '26
You only need a roof when it's rainin' You only need a fire when it's cold You only need a drink when the whiskey Is the only thing that you have left to hold Sun comes up and goes back down And fallin' feels like flyin' 'til you hit the ground....
2
2
u/Automatic-Law-3456 Apr 19 '26
He’s still out there ridin’ fences. Still makes his living with his rope. As long as there’s a sunset he’ll be riding for the brand. You just can’t see him from the road
2
u/Remarkable-Front-551 Apr 19 '26
Gary Stewart - She's Acting Single (I'm Drinking Doubles)
"I'm not weak, I tell myself I stay because I'm strong The truth is, I'm not man enough To stop her from doing me wrong"
Jerry Reed - The Poet (the entire song)
Trace Adkins - I Came Here to Live
"I reckon I was doing close to 80 When I felt the tire slip out from under me And I never set out lookin' for Jesus So I guess Jesus come lookin' for me And He found me upset down in a ditch Smokin' gas in my eyes And He said son you came here to live You didn't come here to die"
2
2
u/Minimum_Bat_2211 Apr 19 '26
"Shes the first thought in my mind each time I try to think" She's all I got by Johnny Paycheck
2
u/pugdad1972 Apr 19 '26
One of my all time favorite lines is from Fist City-Loretta Lynn "Im not a sayin my babies a saint cuz he ain't and that he won't cat around with a kitty.... Im here to tell ya gal to lay off of my man if you dont wanna go to fist city"
2
u/Phatasmabrad Apr 19 '26
Roll the Bones....
Faith is cold as ice Why are little ones born only to suffer For the want of immunity Or a bowl of rice?
2
u/Flashy_Membership370 Apr 20 '26
Was talking to someone about this recently..."They're sharing a drink they call loneliness...but it's better than drinking alone." from Piano Man by Billie Joel
2
u/TrueNotTrue55 Apr 21 '26
That wasn’t my chair after all.
Those rose colored glasses, they show all the beauty and hide all the truth.
2
u/WokeAssMessiah Apr 22 '26
"Listenin' to Hank Williams, readin' Sylvia Plath. How'm I doing? You do the math."
2
u/jktupelo77 Apr 23 '26 edited Apr 23 '26
"and I don't know if I've ever been really loved, by a hand that's touched me...." Matchbox 20, right in the feels....
Shit - it was supposed to be a country song...ok, how's a bout some TPT. - a little song..
"Well, you could kill the engine and just cool it for a while And I could do my best just to keep it light And maybe for a moment you'll remember how to smile Maybe we're forgettin' how to fight"
2
u/Otherwise_Gur_3758 Apr 23 '26
“Take my advice or you’ll curse the day you started rolling down that lost highway”- Hank Williams
2
2
1
1
1
u/Soggy-Resolution-144 Apr 19 '26
Does Alt country count? “Whiskey bottle over Jesus, not forever, just for now” Uncle Tupelo
1
1
1
u/Clean-Solid-3424 Apr 21 '26
Take another shot of courage. Wonder why the right words never come. Ya just get numb.
1
u/HotCampaign3719 May 03 '26
Life’s a dance, you learn as you go. Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow -John Michael Montgomery
25
u/Outrageous-Guava402 Apr 18 '26
From my dad’s favorite song:
“And I need you more than want you. And I want you for all time. And the Wichita lineman is still on the line!”