LYRIC FOR SALE

By Ironwood Road

[Intro - Soft Telecaster, ambient, slow build]

[Verse 1 — soft Telecaster, intimate]
We didn’t have much, but we had enough
Laughin’ through nothin’, that was always us
Bills got paid, just enough to breathe
Sometimes we’d fish on weekends just to eat
She never asked for more than we had
Back then I thought love was simple as that

[Pre‑Chorus]
We were livin’ on just enough
Didn’t see the cracks showin’ up
Same house, same bed, same life
But somehow driftin’ out of sight

[Add soft acoustic guitar, light pads]

[Chorus]
Yeah, the bottle runs dry by the mornin’ light
Head still poundin’, but I’ll be alright
I can handle the ache from the whiskey poured
It’s when I start thinkin’ it cuts to the core
It’s knowin’ we let somethin’ good slip through our hands
If we’d opened up more, maybe we’d still stand…
The hangover…
don’t hurt like the memories

[Verse 2 — hindsight, her side through your eyes]
She’d crawl in my lap just to feel me close
Some nights I would hold… some nights I would let go
I was home every night, but I wasn’t there
Buried in work, thinkin’ that proved I cared
She found her own way to get through the nights
I never saw the signs that we weren’t alright

[Pre‑Chorus 2]
I thought she knew what I was workin’ for
She thought I knew she couldn’t take much more
Two hearts tryin’ but missin’ the signs
Same love… just different sides

[Add light drums, bass, fuller instrumentation]

[Chorus]
Yeah, the bottle runs dry by the mornin’ light
Head still poundin’, but I’ll be alright
I can handle the ache from the whiskey poured
It’s when I start thinkin’ it cuts to the core
It’s knowin’ we let somethin’ good slip through our hands
If we’d opened up more, maybe we’d still stand…
The hangover…
don’t hurt like the memories

[Verse 3]
She started packin’ up her things real slow
And that’s when I knew she’d already let go
I told her take it all if she had to leave
Slipped off my ring and said, “Just keep it for me”
Said if she came back, we’d try again
But deep down I knew it was the end

[Drop drums — light Telecaster]

[Bridge — minimal instruments, cinematic]
If we could go back, we’d read the signs
Say the things we never said out loud
Meet halfway instead of walkin’ past
Hold on tighter… make it last

[Stay stripped — light Telecaster]

[Final Chorus]
Yeah, the bottle runs dry by the mornin’ light
Head still poundin’, but I’ll be alright
I can handle the ache from the whiskey poured
It’s when I start thinkin’ it cuts to the core
It’s knowin’ we let somethin’ good slip through our hands
If we’d opened up more, maybe we’d still stand…
The hangover…
don’t hurt like the memories

[Strip to Telecaster only, fade out]
[Outro — devastating]
If I’d only noticed…
If she only stayed…

We might’ve found a way through,
instead of driftin’ away…