Small-Town Heartache

Intro

(Oh...) Fadin' taillights on that gravel road

Leavin' high school in the rearview glow

Verse

We met by the old oak on the football field

You in your letterman, me with my wild ideals

Dancin' in the headlights of your daddy's truck

Summer nights laughin', never thought we'd run outta luck

Promised we'd chase stars down county line nineteen

But come fall, you packed up, left me in between

Those locker notes and mixtapes in the glovebox dust

Now they're just ghosts of what we called us

Pre-chorus

I drive these backroads where we used to park

Starin' at the dashboard, tearin' up the dark

Thought forever was easy like a Friday night win

But growin' up hits harder than the hurt within

Chorus

This small-town heartache's got me breakin' slow

Campus lights flickerin' like a radio glow

We were young and burnin', thought we'd never fade

But life's a dirt road turnin', and you drove away

Oh, why'd the best love feel like goodbye?

Echoes in the wind, under that September sky

Yeah, we were everything, now we're just why

Small-town heartache, learnin' to say goodbye

Verse

Swing set creakin' where we stole our first kiss

Your hand in mine, plannin' dreams we couldn't miss

Friday lights, cheerin' from the stands so high

Now the field's gone quiet, and I'm wonderin' why

You headed for the city, chasin' bigger skies

Left me with this locket and tears in my eyes

Photos in my wallet, faded smiles we wore

Campus full of memories, but you're walkin' out the door

Pre-chorus

I trace our initials scratched in the old barn wood

Whiskey in a mason jar, doin' what I should

But not forgettin', just learnin' how to breathe

In a world that took you faster than I could believe

Chorus

This small-town heartache's got me breakin' slow

Campus lights flickerin' like a radio glow

We were young and burnin', thought we'd never fade

But life's a dirt road turnin', and you drove away

Oh, why'd the best love feel like goodbye?

Echoes in the wind, under that September sky

Yeah, we were everything, now we're just why

Small-town heartache, learnin' to say goodbye

Bridge

Maybe someday I'll thank the hurt for settin' me free

Show me who I am when it's just me

No more waitin' on your taillights to turn around

I'll find my own highway in this one-horse town

(Oh... yeah)

Chorus

This small-town heartache's got me breakin' slow

Campus lights flickerin' like a radio glow

We were young and burnin', thought we'd never fade

But life's a dirt road turnin', and you drove away

Oh, why'd the best love feel like goodbye? (goodbye)

Echoes in the wind, under that September sky

Yeah, we were everything, now we're just why

Small-town heartache, learnin' to say goodbye

Outro

(Oh...) Fadin' taillights on that gravel road

Leavin' high school.