Country imagines & preferences

The bottle let me down - Jon Pardi

This is the part II of "Beer light - Jon Pardi"

*****

Each night I leave the bar room when it's over

Not feeling any pain at closing time

But tonight your memory found me much too sober

Couldn't drink enough to keep you off my mind

I set the empty bottle down on the counter. That's the last drink before the bar closes.

The jukebox was playing an old country song by Merle Haggard. Around me there were no more than half a dozen drunken cowboys playing snooker or talking animatedly. One or two women were holding them by the arm trying to take them home.

I paid what I owed the bartender and then left the bar alone. It had been a long time since she had been there by my side, when on Friday nights we used to dance to some music under the neon lights while drinking a few beers. How is it possible that I let the only woman I have ever loved walk away?

And as I walk home through those empty streets at night I got her on my mind. I think about the way she used to tell me she loved me. The way she was kind and tender, and loved me for who I am and not for who she thought I was.

Nobody leaves a wonderful girl like that... 

I just wonder if she still thinks about me sometimes...

And I don't know why I keep doing this but I can't stop myself for trying to talk to her... To tell her I'm a completely fool for hurting her the way I did. I still got her number in my phone but every time I call her I only listen to her sweet voice on the answering machine.

"Hi, this is (Y/N), sorry I can't get to the phone right now. Please leave a message. Bye."

And as I listen to that voicemail message once again, I can only think about those wise words by Merle Haggard:

Tonight the bottle let me down...