Growing Up in a Bar

[Intro]  
In a small town hollow, where the shadows creep,  
There’s a tale of a boy who couldn't help but seep  
Into the world of whiskey and neon lights,  
Where laughter echoed through the long, lonely nights.  
[Verse 1]  
A child in a bar, where the jukebox spun,  
He’d push two stools together, that’s where he’d run,  
His father at the counter with a drink in hand,  
“Just one more,” he’d say, as if it was planned.  
[Pre-Chorus]  
He learned to play pool, though he barely could reach,  
Tall enough to observe, but silent like a speech,  
And with every clink of glasses, his innocence fled,  
Growing up in a bar with the ghosts in his head.  
[Chorus]  
This boy grew up in a bar;  
Where dreams and regrets were never too far,  
He learned the hard truths with each passing round,  
In a world full of spirits, true love never found.  
[Verse 2]  
When the night faded slow to the dawn’s early light,  
He’d sneak out the back, but the past held him tight,  
With every sip he took, he felt lost in the glow,  
Of laughter and bittersweet stories below.  
[Pre-Chorus]  
Tall tales of heartache, and life’s twisted fates,  
A boy with dreams woven into the crates,  
He longed for the sunshine to burn off the haze,  
But the bar was his home, in so many ways.  
[Chorus]  
This boy grew up in a bar;  
Where dreams and regrets were never too far,  
He learned the hard truths with each passing round,  
In a world full of spirits, true love never found.  
[Bridge]  
Now he stands at the counter, a man in his pride,  
With a bottle in hand and the darkness inside,  
And though he walks away, he’ll never forget,  
The life lessons learned, and the boy full of debt.  
[Outro]  
So pour him another, let the stories unwind,  
In a bar full of memories that never rewind,  
For a kid who learned laughter and sorrow so well,  
In a place that still echoes the secrets they tell.

Country-Rock, Acoustic guitar, poignant storytelling; Male vocal