Our Country: Music

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WHEN I WAS A KID,
I TICKLED MY GUITAR,
AND TRIED TO PICK OUT POP SONG CHORDS
JUST SEEIN’ WHAT CHORDS ARE.
I PRACTICED EV’RY NIGHT.
THOSE NIGHTS TURNED INTO YEARS.
A FIRE STARTED IN MY HEART,
IN MY GUT, AN’ IN MY EARS.

ALL THAT’S LEFT IS JUST A DYIN’ ORANGE EMBER.
I CLOSE MY EYES AND I TRY HARD TO REMEMBER

A TIME WHEN MUSIC MATTERED TO ME.
WHEN I LET MY THOUGHTS RUN SCATTERED AN’ FREE,
WHEN MY SELF-DOUBTS WERE FEW,
AN’ EV’RY NOTE WAS NEW,
AN’ EV’RY WORD WAS TRUE.
BEFORE THE LAWYERS BRANDED MY NAME.
BEFORE I SINGLE-HANDEDLY SOLD MY SOUL FOR FAME.
BEFORE REASON LEFT MY RHYME,
I SWEAR THERE WAS A TIME
WHEN MUSIC MATTERED.
WHEN MUSIC MATTERED

WHEN YOUR FINGERS STRUM ON AUTO-PILOT
AN’ YOUR VOICE IS NOT YOUR OWN.
WHEN YOU HIDE BEHIND A CROSS
AND LOSE THE ONLY LOVE YOU’VE KNOWN.
WHEN YOU’RE ABANDONED BY A BILLION FANS
BUT THAT’S NOT WHY YOU’RE ALONE.
WHAT DO YOU DO
TO GET BACK TO YOU?

IF I COULD GO BACK
AN’ DO IT ALL AGAIN,
I’D PROB’LY MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES
THAT I HAD MADE BACK THEN,
I CHOSE MUSIC AS MY LIFE—
THE BLESSING AND THE CURSE—
AN’ I WILL NOT REGRET THAT CHOICE.
FOR BETTER, OR FOR WORSE.

I WOULDN’T TAKE A SINGLE AWFUL DAY BACK.
EACH WRONG TURN I MADE WILL HELP ME TO FIND MY WAY BACK

TO THE TIME WHEN MUSIC MATTERED TO ME.
WHEN I’LL LET MY THOUGHTS RUN SCATTERED AN’ FREE.
WHEN MY SELF-DOUBTS ARE FEW,
AN’ EV’RY NOTE IS NEW,
AN’ EV’RY WORD IS TRUE.
I TRIED SO HARD TO STEAL THAT STAR,
BUT NOTHIN’S HALF AS REAL AS TICKLIN’ THIS GUITAR.
DON’T NEED A SINGLE DIME.
RIGHT HERE. RIGHT NOW’S THE TIME

WHEN MUSIC MATTERS.
THIS MUSIC MATTERS.
TO ME, IT’S ALL THAT MATTERS.