Wildflower in My Ashtray

Verse 1
She came in like a Sunday morning
Soft as a chapel hymn
I was still tasting last night’s whiskey
When she went and believed in me again
She talked about open skies
And planting roots that’d last
I just nodded, held her hand
Like I wasn’t already half in the past

Chorus
She’s a wildflower in my ashtray
Blooming where the smoke won’t clear
I keep saying I’ll quit these matches
But I light one every time she’s near
She keeps loving what she hopes I’ll be
I keep being what I am
She’s a wildflower in my ashtray
And I don’t know how to hold her with these hands

Verse 2
She hears the ache behind my laughter
Like she’s learned the sound of rain
Every time I start to wander
She’s standing there, calling my name
She thinks I’m just a wounded man
One good love away from home
I know I’m more like a drifting train
That never stays long at one station

Chorus
She’s a wildflower in my ashtray
Still reaching for the sun
While I keep pouring gasoline
On every good thing I’ve done
She keeps saying “we’re forever”
I keep counting miles instead
She’s a wildflower in my ashtray
And I’m the one who’s watching her fade

Bridge
If love was all it took
I’d be a better man
But love don’t change a restless soul
Just shows it what it can’t hold onto

Verse 3
Some nights I almost believe her
That I could be someone new
Then the road starts calling my name
Like it always used to do

Final Chorus
She’s a wildflower in my ashtray
And Lord, I know it ain’t right
To keep a heart that pure
In a place this full of fire and fight
She deserves a field of springtime
Not a man like me
She’s a wildflower in my ashtray
And I wish she’d quit trying to be

Outro
But she won’t
And I won’t

Genre: Outlaw Country / Classic Country Rock
Mood: smoky, resigned, honest
Tempo: 72-82 BPM
Key: minor leaning