I keep waiting for these Random Weekends to turn up something truly horrible or embarrassing, a song so pathetic that is forces my loyal readers to second-guess my value not just as a music lover but as a human being.
Hasn’t happened yet, which I guess speaks well of my music collection. But I’m only a month or so into this, so I know that moment is lurking out there.
It certainly isn’t today, as the spinning wheel settled on a wonderful little song from Miranda Lambert’s debut album, Kerosene. Much of Kerosene deals with the theme of leaving a small town for something bigger and this song is no exception.
However, while most of the tracks are about Lambert herself seeking her way outside of Texas, ‘Me and Charlie Talking’ is about a childhood sweetheart who got away first.
Sittin’ in the woods behind my house
When being lovers meant a stolen kiss
And holding hands with nobody else around
Charlie said he wanted to get married
But we were only ten so we’d have to wait
He said we’d never let our love run dry
Like so many do these days
So we treat our love like a firefly
Like it only gets to shine for a little while
Catch it in a mason jar with holes in the top
And run like hell to show it off
Oh, promises we made when we’d go walkin’
That’s just me and Charlie talking
Charlie always said he’d like to leave here
He turned eighteen and he left our sleepy town
Letters came and went and I kept waiting
For Charlie to come back and bring the life he’d found
It’s funny how time and distance change you
The road you take don’t always lead you home
You can start a love with good intentions
And you’ll look up and it’s gone
So you treat your love like a firefly
Like it only gets to shine for a little while
Catch it in a mason jar with holes in the top
And run like hell to show it off
Oh, promises we made when we’d go walkin’
That’s just me and Charlie talking
Now and then I sometimes think of Charlie
How we thought we knew it all back then
Now I’d give anything to feel love
From a child’s heart again
So you treat your love like a firefly
Like it only gets to shine for a little while
Catch it in a mason jar with holes in the top
And run like hell to show it off
Oh, promises we made when we’d go walkin’
That’s just me and Charlie, me and Charlie talking
Meet Me In Montauk 
Well, a certain brother in law who cares not for country might argue that this is embarassing, but I’ll refrain:)
I will say though that I find her voice is a bit too twangy/country-ish for my taste. Not sure if she sounds like this all the time, but this doesn’t do it for me.
I actually like her voice very much in this song… reminds me a little bit of Dolly Parton… and that is high praise in my book. This is such a quintessential country song, so I suspect (esp. having gotten a glimpse of Sunday’s song) that your random weekends are revealing the country boy you are at heart. 🙂