top of page

Hall of Fame
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It's easy.
Songwriter of the Year
Nominee Song List
Colores Oscuros (Dark Colors)
January
Andrea R Cannon
2023
This is an instrumental song. There is no lyric sheet
Lyrics
River So Deep
January
Pam Grisham and Cindy Prince
2023
Grew up on that muddy river
Used to dream about buildin' a raft
But Mama always said too dangerous
She said, "Baby, don't you know you're all I got left."
Papa was known for his cheatin' ways
Everyone knew just how he drank
People thought he just walked off and left her
'Til his body washed up on the bank
Oh, river, so deep… Oh, river, so deep… Oh, river, so deep… River so deep
Bridge:
The Old Muddy took Papa
Now Mama, she clings to me
I hear her singin' those sad songs
When she thinks I'm asleep
I try to help Mama feel better
She gives me her sweet tender smile
But I know from her night singin'
She ain't gonna feel too good for awhile
Oh, river, so deep… Oh, river, so deep… Oh, river, so deep… River so deep
Talkin' bout that river so deep…singin 'bout that river so deep
Oh, river, so deep… River so deep
Lyrics
Into the Sunrise
January
David Fahl
2023
v1 Night sky empty as night can be,
Nobody here but you and me,
Catching our breath, now the battle’s won.
Was the victory worth the killing we’ve done?
V2 I’m looking at you, you’re looking at me.
Both trying to hide what we can’t not see.
Two things certain we both know,
You’re going to stay and I’m going to go.
Ch If I was in a cowboy movie, we’d know how it goes
I’d ride into the sunset, silent and alone.
That don’t seem right to me, I’ll travel through the day
Head into the sunrise when I see the dawn’s first ray.
Br I’ll try to sleep tonight on this restless bed
While the weeping of the widows echoes in my head
Is it the good and the bad or just the living and the dead?
V3 Dark night turns to shadows, shadows disappear.
I can’t hide anything when the sunlight shines so clear.
Who we are, and what we’ve done, so obvious and plain,
We’ll let the poets tell the tale, remove the stain.
Ch If I was in a cowboy movie, we’d know how it goes
I’d ride into the sunset, silent and alone.
That don’t seem right to me, I’ll travel through the day
Head into the sunrise when I see the dawn’s first ray.
Lyrics
Wish I Had Met You First
January
Randy McClendon
2023
Wish I Had Met You First
Randy McClendon
Intro
Well I learned to Waltz and Two Step too
I learned these things before I met you.
Well I learned to Waltz and Two Step too
Tonight, I’ll be dancing with you.
Chorus
Well I wish that I had met you first,
Well I wish that I had met you first,
Well I wish that I had met you first, I do
But I’ll be your baby tonight
Well I’ve tussled with some gals in old Gruene Hall
And I’ve loved a few women from Arky Blues
But I swear to you there were so many from which to choose
And I gambled like I had nothing to lose.
Chorus
Well I wish that I had met you first
Well I wish that I had met you first
Well I wish that I had met you first
But I’ll be your baby tonight.
Bridge
You’re everything I ever wanted
You’re everything I ever dreamed of
Darling, you’re the only one I’ll ever need
Chorus
Well I wish that I had met you first
Well I wish that I had met you first
Well I wish that I had met you first
But I’ll be your baby tonight.
Instrumental
Chorus Flipped
Well I’ll be your baby, tonight,
Well I’ll be your baby, tonight,
Well I’ll be your baby, tonight,
But I wish that I had met you first.
Lyrics
Fisherman, the sinner and the saint
January
Paul Boedeker, Ray Wyatt
2023
Fisherman, the sinner and the saint (Paul Boedeker, Ray Wyatt) 2023
(intro). There are 3 voices living here inside my head
a fisherman, a sinner and a saint
Fighting for a space in my mental real estate
Each with something different to say
C1 All these voices make a melody
a strange and haunting harmony
of obscenities, absurdities and the wisdom of the years
The fisherman, the sinner, and the saint
V1
The saint in no uncertain terms will tell you what is right
To him it is as plain as night and day
The sinner stretches selfish hands reaching far and wide
To have whatever he can take away
(repeat C1)
V2
The fisherman will cast his line precisely at a spot
To hook a prize he hopes is hiding there
Then readjust his cap ever so slightly just for luck
Pretending that he doesn’t really care
(bridge) Will I be the man I think I ought to be?
will I walk
and not grow faint?
Can I tame the characters inside my head?
The fisherman the sinner and the saint.
V3
A fishing line and bobber plop into the water
Sending circles ‘cross the surface of the day
The saint will seek the light, the sinner, lurk in darkness,
The fisherman will catch what comes his way
C2 All these voices make a melody
to life’s relentless symphony
of obscenities, absurdities and the wisdom of the years
The fisherman, the sinner, and the saint (x3)
Lyrics
7 Deadly Moods
January
Mark Winters
2023
7 Deadly Moods v1.6 - by Mark Winters
[Verse 1]
I got these bad moods - their living - in my head
(Instrumental)
Snapping and biting They put me on edge
(Instrumental)
It’s Like a hydra - spitting - with seven heads
Sneaking around and trying to spread
I won’t no sadness creeping up on me
Dropping me down to misery
Fear can get a hold on me
What’s it gonna take to make you leave
[Pre-Chorus]
My mind is tied up in a funky mood
It’s got me on edge what do I do
[Chorus 1]
I’m Moo-d-eh Making a scene
Check my pulse and you will see
Gotta turn them over and change the tone
Seven deadly moods gonna turn to gold
(guitar pent riff)
[Verse 2]
I’ts lonely and quiet just sitting on my couch
(Instrumental)
No one around to help me out (vs see me pout)
(Instrumental)
I miss my friends chatting and hanging around
Loneliness is leaving with that sound
Shameful and murky depressing thoughts
Constricting and squeezing im heading south
Anger and panic are setting in
What’s it gonna take to make them leave
[Pre-Chorus]
My mind is tied up in a funky mood
It’s got me on edge what do I do
[Chorus 2]
I’m Moo-d-eh Making a scene
Check my pulse and you will see - write other lines about making a scene
Gotta turn them over and change the tone
Seven deadly moods gonna turn to gold
[tag]
Turning turning turning to gold, Turn to gold
[Bridge]
7 deadly moods sitting in my head
H-i-s-s-ing
Love and light and camaraderie
M-i-s-s-i-n-g
Turn those moods and loosen their hold
K-i-s-s-ing
Seven deadly moods turn to gold
[tag]
Turning turning turning to gold, Turn to gold
[Chorus 2-outro ]
I’m Moo-d-eh Making a scene
Check my pulse and you will see - write other lines about making a scene
Gotta turn them over and change the tone
Seven deadly moods gonna turn to gold
[tag]
Turning turning turning to gold, Turn to gold
Lyrics
Adios you're toast
January
Larry Glass
2023
ADIOS YOU’RE TOAST
V1:
YOU DON’T KNOW OR YOU DON’T CARE AN I CAN’T KNOW THE REASON WHY
ALL I REALLY KNOW FOR SURE IT’S GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE
Chorus:
ADIOS YOU’RE TOAST O LO SIENTO MUCHO
ADIOS YOU’RE TOAST MIGHTY GLAD YOU’RE GONE
V2:
YOU PROBABLY THINK THIS RHYME IS FULL OF TEARS AND GRIEVIN
BUT YOU’D BE WRONG THIS TIME CUZ I’M JUST GLAD YOU’RE LEAVIN
Chorus:
ADIOS YOU’RE TOAST O LO SIENTO MUCHO
ADIOS YOU’RE TOAST MIGHTY GLAD YOU’RE GONE
LEAD:
Repeat V1:
YOU DON’T KNOW OR YOU DON’T CARE AN I CAN’T KNOW THE REASON WHY
ALL I REALLY KNOW FOR SURE IT’S GOODBYE GOODBYE GOODBYE
Chorus and Tag:
ADIOS YOU’RE TOAST O LO SIENTO MUCHO
ADIOS YOU’RE TOAST MIGHTY GLAD YOU’RE GONE MIGHTY GLAD YOU’RE GONE
MIGHTY GLAD YOU’RE GONE
Lyrics
Laramie
January
Gary Graham
2023
It seemed so easy years ago
The lure of easy greenback dough
There for the taking
Who’s ever gonna know
The stagecoach time always the same
It seemed like such an easy game
One day it is yours the next day mine
Things would never be the same
Bridge
We planned it my two brothers & me
Why should we work we can have it for free
There for the taking
Or so it seemed at the time
We hadn’t planned on the man inside
Long rifles leave no place to hide
2 brothers gone now from my side
Only 1 riding
Chorus
I’ve been to Laramie
Had the fear of God starring me
Straight in the eyes
Blue eyes and boot heels &
A look at ice cold six gun steel
I am a man who knows how it feels
To be on the run
To be on the run
Lyrics
Wasted
January
Wallace Chase and Vic Sapp
2023
Verse 1
You took me by surprise
when you looked into my eyes
One touch and you got me high
I got the butterflies fluttering around inside
It's gonna be a hell of a ride
Blurry eyes and endless nights
Are so intoxicating
and I don’t want this spinning room to stop
Chorus
'Cause I’m wasted on you
Yeah I’m drunk on the touch of a little too much
of the heat of the moment
Yeah I’m wasted on you
I am high off the rush of my heart and the lust
for the love unfolding
Verse 2
They say it wouldn’t last
We burn too hot and fast
Maybe we should just slow it down
All up inside my head
Remember things you said
My feet would float off the ground
But blurry eyes from all the fights
It all disintegrated
Now I just want this spinning room to stop
Chorus 2
'Cause I'm wasted on you
I have given too much and I'm sick of your touching
it's so complicated
I am wasted on you
Now I'm sobering up and it's gonna be rough
It was so overrated
I am wasted on you
I am more than enough and it cost me too much
for my heart to be traded
I am wasted so wasted
I feel wasted on you
Lyrics
Wishbone
January
Narissa Bond
2023
Grand daddy found water with a divining rod
It’s like a wishbone turned upside down
Grand daddy went hunting in the afternoon
Brought a squirrel home to grandma to make squirrel stew
You can put your dreams up on the shelf
Hold them close to your heart and tell nobody else
Or break the wishbones you’ve been saving
And let your dreams fly free
Wishing bone
Grandma was 33 grandpa was 73 years old
My momma was the last child they brought into this world
He said cry when they’re born and laugh when they go
For colored folks it was a hard, hard road
You can put your dreams up on the shelf
Hold them close to your heart and tell nobody else
Or break the wishbones you’ve been saving
And let your dreams fly free
Wishing bone
Grand daddy looked like a white man
But he never tried to pass, some folks didn’t understand
The bus driver said “sir, you can ride up front”
Grand daddy said I’m colored. It was the Jim Crow south
You can put your dreams up on the shelf
Hold them close to your heart and tell nobody else
Or break the wishbones you’ve been saving
And let your dreams fly free
Wishing bone
My momma wished for me at 19 years
The brown color of my skin and black satin hair
Grand daddy died a few years before I was born
I guess I’ll meet him in heaven when my time comes
You can put your dreams up on the shelf
Hold them close to your heart and tell nobody else
Or break the wishbones you’ve been saving
And let your dreams fly free
Wishing bone
Momma drove down that lone star road
Brother, sister and I in tow
To a beautiful house he build with love
Barely held together with memories
And the well where they drew water
Found through the divine
Wishing bone
Lyrics
You Will Always Be a Part of Me
January
Tim Bentley, Josh David Walker
2023
V1:
The past is gone
It’s time to move on
My mind keeps telling me
It’s called reality
live in the here and now
V2:
But the future’s unknown
for the seeds that we’ve sown
There is no certainty
How will they reach maturity
without you by my side
PRE:
I know there’s no chance that I’m wrong
Cause my love for you is so strong
Past or future
I know it has to be
CH1:
You will always be a part of me
You’re the melody to every song that I sing
You will always be that part of me
That still believes your love can carry me through
V3:
So life moves on, but I’m not alone
I have my memories
I know you’re here with me, as I sing this song
CH2:
Bridge:
Late at night, when I’m by myself, it gets hard to bear
I know you’re gone but you’re still so close, I can feel you there
CH3:
Lyrics
She Might Be The Reason
January
J.Robeson
2023
I saw you picking flowers
by the road just yesterday
I didnt know your name
Didnt want to be in your way
It seems so sweet and innocent
to pick flowers in the rain
an Indian paintbush in your hair
and the sound of a passing train
She might be the reason
that i dont sleep tonight
She might be the reason
i havent felt quite right
I cant really remember
I really cant explain
She might be the reason
i dont know hername
Do you keep those flowers
next to a picture frame of him
or is there an empty space
for a guy like me to fit in
Even though we havent met
Ide still like to know your name
maybe i can hope for
flowers next to my frame
She might be the reason
i wont sleep tonight
She may be the reason
i havent felt quite right
i really cant remember
i really cant explain
She might be the reason
that i don't know her name
I saw you picking flowers
like you were doing the other day
you were standing there in the rain
so i had to stop and say
i came to pick a wildflower
and bring it in from the rain
I was hoping you could tell me
if this flower has a name
you might be the reason
that i might sleep tonight
you might be the reason
i havent felt quite right
I can't remember
i cant explain
you might be the reason
my flower has a name.
Lyrics
bottom of page