Though I Might Have (a demo)

     Most singer/songwriters venture into autobiography. Some more than others.

     Even if you are primarily a story-telling singer/songwriter, you will occasionally write the autobiographical song.

     This is one of mine.

     While I’ve never shied away from my past, nowadays I talk more freely about certain episodes. And if I’m being loquacious at a gig, I have been known to explain my incarcerations have taken place in two different types of lockup. The most obvious would be a jail. Or drunk tank. The other sometimes follows closely, especially if you are a middle class, white-collar employee with mental health coverage.

     The latter – Atlanta’s Ridgeview Institute in my case – was a whole lot nicer than Atlanta Fulton County Jail. No contest.

     But still, when they turn off the lights, they lock the doors. Because you ain’t going nowhere.

     One of the benefits of reaching a certain age is that it no longer seems presumptuous to claim you have lived a long and often hard life. And while there is some humor associated with such a past, this song speaks to a truth, and I am grateful daily for the life I now share with Melissa.

     FYI: “Though I Might Have” became the title because “Once Upon a Time” (the last line in the refrain) had been taken one time to many!

 

     The above is just me and my guitar.

 

Though I Might Have

 

I’ve spent more than one night
Where they lock you up inside
I’m not bragging or complaining
It’s just I got nothing left to hide
So I’m not going to tell you any lies
though I might have
once upon a time

 

Yeah it wasn’t that long ago
I didn’t know up from down
I might’ve sworn I’d been to the planet Mars
Or a survivor of Jonestown
But I’m not gonna feed you any lines
though I might have
once upon a time

(bridge): I’m not proud of all I done
     to reach this point in life
but I’ve lived long and hard enough to tell
the darkness from the light

 

If I played liar’s poker
I’d lose every hand
Drawing to an inside straight
Just like Custer’s last stand
But I’m not looking to start any fight
though I might have
once upon a time

 

I can’t drink beer or liquor
Had to give up cigarettes
But there’s a lady who loves me
So I consider myself blessed
And I don’t worry about what I did last night
Though I might have
Once upon a time

     (2^nd bridge):
When you’ve wrestled with the devil
     And contemplated your own death
     Life’s a whole lot sweeter
     when you can forgive and forget

 

Yeah, I’ve spent my last night
Where they lock you up inside
Cause there’s a lady who loves me
And now she lies by my side
So I don’t worry about what I did last night
though I might have
once upon a time
No I don’t worry about what I did last night
Though I might have
Once upon a time (x2)

 

 

 

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