**[Verse 1]**
There was a bottle on the counter by the microwave clock
Same spot every night, like it never would walk
I was young, didn’t know what the amber meant
Just knew mama’s laugh changed when the cap got bent
TV light flicker on the peeling paint walls
I’d hear ice hit the glass like a code in the halls
She’d say, “Baby, I’m fine,” but her smile was thin
Like she practiced in the mirror how to tuck pain in
Bills folded under magnets on the fridge door
Past due in red ink we just ignored
I learned early how to read a room
By the way she poured heavy when the rent came soon
Never violent, never loud
Just a quiet kinda storm in a working-class crowd
She carried the weight like a winter coat
And that whiskey just helped her keep afloat
**[Hook]**
Mama’s whiskey in a chipped glass cup
Little me wishing I could fill it back up
Not with liquor, but with peace and some rest
Take the ache out her chest, let her finally exhale
Mama’s whiskey, yeah, it smelled like oak
Like secrets in the air every time she spoke
Now I’m grown and I know what it meant
It was cheaper than therapy and twice as bent
**[Verse 2]**
I remember one night she was staring at the sink
Water running too long, lost in her think
I said, “You okay?” she said, “Yeah, just tired”
But her eyes said something different, something wired
Working doubles just to keep us in place
Smiling at customers with a stiff kinda grace
Came home, kicked shoes off by the door
Poured courage in a bottle she could afford
I used to judge it when I hit my teens
Swore I’d never need a crutch or a scene
But trauma don’t vanish ‘cause you make a vow
It just waits in the dark and grows somehow
Now I see her hands when I hold my own
Same nervous shake when I’m alone
And I get why she’d sip slow after midnight
Trying to soften the edges of a long fight
**[Hook]**
Mama’s whiskey in a chipped glass cup
Little me wishing I could fill it back up
Not with liquor, but with peace and some rest
Take the ache out her chest, let her finally exhale
Mama’s whiskey, yeah, it burned going down
Like the weight of the world in a small-town gown
Now I’m grown and I see it clear
She was fighting her demons, not disappearing
**[Bridge – Soft, Spoken]**
I used to think it was weakness
Now I know it was survival
Used to think she was distant
Now I know she was tired
**[Verse 3]**
If I could go back to that kitchen light
I’d hug her harder on those long nights
Tell her, “You did good, even when it was rough
Even when the bottle felt like enough”
We’re both just people, flawed and scared
Trying to act like we’re prepared
For a world that don’t slow down or care
Sometimes coping just means you’re aware
So here’s to healing what we can
Breaking cycles with steadier hands
And if I ever pour one when it’s heavy and risky
I’ll toast to her strength — not the whiskey.
[Outro]
That bottle’s gone, but the lessons stay
Love ain’t perfect, but it finds a way.
HollowVotive
