Session Three 2025 Lyric Contest Winners

Congratulations to all our Session Three 2025 Lyric Contest winners. Read the winning lyrics for first through fourth place, below.

CLICK HERE to enter the 2025 Session Four Lyric Contest.

1st Place – “Marble and Stone”

By: Coco Zhai

Verse 1
He promised he’d meet her where the lighthouse dies,
Where the cliff cracks open and the seagulls cry.
“One year,” he swore, “I’ll come back for you.”
She counted the tides as the gray years flew.
Barefoot in August, frostbite in May—
She wore that same dress, stained with salt and decay.

Chorus
Oh, the town whispered, “Girl, let him go—
Men don’t return where the black currents flow.”
But she traced his name in the rocks alone,
While the waves carved their vows into marble and stone.

Verse 2
Years stacked like driftwood, his face grew unclear,
Just a shadow that haunted her fingertips’ fear.
She’d scream at the tide, “Bring him home or bring proof!”
The ocean spits back a waterlogged boot.
His mother wept, “Child, he’s not out there…”
But the girl built a raft from her rage and her hair.

Chorus
Oh, the town pleaded, “Girl, let him go—
Ghosts don’t forgive what the deep waters owe.”
Still, she rowed past the moon’s hollow groan,
Leaving roses to rot on the marble and stone.

Bridge
One dawn, she vanished—no note, no trail,
Just a single silk ribbon tied to the rail.
Years later, a fisherman swore on his life,
He’d seen her… but not as a man’s lonely wife.
No—a creature, half-shimmer, with kelp in her throat,
Singing a dirge from a splintered rowboat.

Twist
And deep in the cove where the lighthouse still stands,
There’s a grave marked “UNKNOWN” carved by no human hands.
Two names in the rock, but one’s scratched away…
Turns out he never left—
she was the one swept to sea that day.

Outro
Now lovers still murmur, “Beware the tide’s moan—
She waits for the living where the dead are alone.”
And the boot, the raft, the ribbon, the bride…
The ocean lied.
The ocean lied.

Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2025 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:

2nd Place – “Latchkey Kings”

By: Tim Wasem

Latchkey Kings

Heads up penny in the asphalt on our street
Called it penny lane, swore we’d never leave
But college kept them north and I went south
By the time I came back they’d all moved out
Childhood friends never leave your dreams
Wandering in the sun, like latchkey kings

You never know — when it’s the last time
Sneaking out at night and feeling small
Nobody knows — till you’ve grown tired and tall
Every day’s a last time after all

Rode The Zipper in a Catholic parking lot
Same place you totaled the first car you bought
Left the fair with your first girl on your arm
Didn’t last long but she still broke your heart
Now you see her face in strangers every day
And you still remember the way her shoulders swayed

You never know — when it’s the last time
Like staring in her eyes at the carnival that fall
She didn’t know — she may not recall
Every day’s a last time after all

First tried grass at the bottom of the steps
In the basement your best friend found his daddy dead
He sent you home with a Coltrane CD
Met god as you listened in your older brother’s jeep
Driving alleys where you learned to ride a bike
A little late but you knew the time was right

We never know — when it’s the last time
Climbing up the stairs, trying not to fall
We couldn’t see — hell we could hardly walk
Every day’s a last time after all

We never know—when it’s the last time
Till it’s long gone, a ghost walking down the hall
We never see—what’s slipping by
Every day’s a last time after all

3rd Place – “What if Today”

By: Chris Genzardi

Would I let my mom know she’s forgiven
Let go and see each new day is God given
Would I sit with my dad, put the past aside
Tell him I love him, no matter the ride

Would I call my grandma just to hear her say
She loves me one more time today
Would I slow down, take it all in
Before these moments turn to what could’ve been

We spend our days like they’ll never run out
Like we’ll always have time to turn it around

What if today was the chance we got
To love a little harder, to give it our all
Would we let the small things steal our days
Or cherish every second He gave
What if today

Would I put my kids over work every time
Or just keep saying, Maybe next time
Would I pull you close like that first kiss
Or let another “someday” turn to a moment missed

We spend our days like they’ll never run out
Like we’ll always have time to turn it around

What if today was the chance we got
To love a little harder, to give it our all
Would we let the small things steal our days
Or cherish every second He gave
What if today

I’d hold you closer, never let go
Kiss you like it’s the last I’d know
I’d love so loud they’d never doubt
That every moment mattered now

What if today was our time to choose
To make things right, to hold on to truth
Did we live with purpose, stand up strong
Or did we waste the days and just drift along
If the good Lord calls, when our time is through
I wanna kneel down and say, I lived it for You
What if today

Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2025 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:

4th Place – “The Estate Sale”

By: Joseph Ryan

The yard sign read “Estate Sale….. today from 8 till 4”
Exact change please and all sales final posted on the door
Curiosity got the best of me and I had nowhere to go
So I took a stroll through the souvenirs of people I don’t know

(V)
Bookcases of his DVD’S all about World War II
I counted over 200 but I probably missed a few
A garage full of wood shop tools where he made toys for the kids
I imagined the smile he must have had with every one he did

(Ch)
Treasures from their 50 years together
Memories like pictures in a frame
Now on sale for pennies on the dollar
To strangers who will never know their names

(V)
Cast iron pans where she fried Sunday Chicken
Boxes filled with her crystal figurines
Needle point cushions she made for the grand kids
20 years of Readers Digest magazines

(V)
The dress that she wore to church on Sundays
Gracefully laid across their master bed
Her garden tools for those spring time flowers
Waiting in a bucket for the seasons ahead

(CH)
Treasures from their 50 years together
Memories like pictures in a frame
Now on sale for pennies on the dollar
To strangers who will never know their names

(Bridge)
Maybe 20 years from now
When I’m quite old and frail
My house will fill with strangers
To browse my life on sale
My collection of Hemmingway novels
My fishing rods and reels
“Will you take 20 bucks for this one”?
They always want a better deal

(Out)
Be grateful for the things you have and stop your chase for more
Some day your yard sign will read “Estate Sale today from 8 till 4
Yeah someday your yard sign will read Estate Sale Today……..from 8 till 4.”

Since 1984, American Songwriter’s Lyric Contest has helped aspiring songwriters get noticed and have fun. Enter the 2025 Lyric Contest today before the deadline:

Honorable Mentions:

“Always Isn’t Always”
By Linda Lane

“Attention ain’t intention”
By Christina Mirandette

“Echoes of You”
By Carl Crosby

“Fishing With You”
By Natalie Murphy

“Four Bucks And A Bottle Of Wine”
By Connie Beamer

“Just Dancing”
By Summerlyn Powers

“Like a Country Song”
By Allen Bissell

“My Ole Guitar”
By Jonathan Richardson

“Rodeo”
By Rick Waldron

“What People Carry ‘Round”
By Brian Estes

“You Won’t Miss Me Long”
By Torre DeVito