Gerard O'Riley

I'm near 40, wrote this one in my early 20s, and it was my first contest placement. A buddy of mine named Leroy was a songwriter, and one day I brought him my stuff. He said he liked it, but my verses were too long, like pages - like Bob Dylan thought "Maybe these songs aren't long enough." And he said I should hone things down, so this is the first song I ever wrote in the typical accepted format. It's just about a busy couple who don't have time to spend together, so they decide to make the time.

The colloquial, catchy phrase people love to use is the "wrong foot," suggesting a bad first step into something that doesn't turn out well. Well, what if you got off on the right foot? Imagine how better things could be.

Liked a girl once. Thought she was awesome. She wanted to be friends. I just wanted a chance to hang out with her. Wrote this for her. Turns out, she wasn't awesome. Such is life. The song's good, though, at least. I consider it a top 20.

Another song I consider one of my babies, definitely in my top 20 list. I reckon I oughta start posting the goods here. This one's just about loving. Simple enough. Two people right for each other, that burning passion.

Not a big story behind this one. One of those songs that you wake up at 4a.m. to write because it's stuck in your head. I always imagined Chris Stapleton's voice carrying this one. Pretty self-explanatory as to what the song means.