THE BEST RED HEADED MISTAKE
Nineteen with a time card punchin
Tryna find my way, just coastin
Then she walked in, red hair fallin
Like a fire down her shoulders glowin
Twenty-eight and confident
Knew exactly who she was
I was just a reckless kid
But man, I drowned inside her love
Break room coffee and stolen stares
Every touch sent sparks through the air
Clocked out early every chance
Just to drive her around, nowhere plans
Windows down on a long dark road
Talkin’ dreams only she would know
Sunrise findin’ us still awake
Lord, those memories never fade
She was older, she was wild
Had me livin’ like a runaway child
We skipped work just to chase the sky
Laughin’ while the miles rolled by
Yeah, she broke me, taught me pain
Left scars runnin’ through my veins
But lookin’ back through all these years
I still grin when her name appears
‘Cause Lord have mercy, that woman was gorgeous
And whoo! she was fun
Then one cold gray afternoon
Said she didn’t feel too good
Snifflin’ softly through the phone
Said, “Baby, I should stay home
Tried to work but I couldn’t focus
Her face was all inside my mind
So I punched out early that evening
Drove there thankful she was mine
Then I saw that Chevy parked
Right there where I used to stand
Blood ran hot, heart went dark
Rage took over this young man
Kicked that door wide open
Caught him tangled in her hair
One punch sent him runnin
Stumblin’ broken and scared
Then the silence filled the room
And I just stood there like an oak
She looked at me, I looked at her
And everything inside me broke
She was older, she was wild
Had me livin’ like a runaway child
We skipped work just to chase the sky
Laughin’ while the miles rolled by
Yeah, she broke me, taught me pain
Left scars runnin’ through my veins
But lookin’ back through all these years
I still grin when her name appears
Cause Lord have mercy, that woman was gorgeous
And Whoo! she was fun
Didn’t say goodbye that night
I just turned and walked away
Never saw her face again
Never heard a word she’d say
For a while it damn near killed me
Thought I’d never heal at all
But time has got a funny way
Of softenin’ the hardest falls
Now I think about those backroads
And the freckles on her skin
And I laugh about that young fool
That I was back then
She was older, she was fire
Burned herself into my life
For a few short months together
Man, she made me feel alive
Yeah, she hurt me, that is true
But I learned a thing or two
Sometimes love ain’t built to stay
Sometimes it just lights the way
And lookin’ back through all these years
There ain’t no anger left in here
Just a memory of a red-haired woman
Too beautiful to forget
And for a little while
She was mine