A True Story of Mine

Instrumental Intro

Verse 1

Mama packed our lunches before the sun came up

Hand-me-down jackets and a chipped old cup

There was always something warm on the table

A house that held us steady and able

School felt like a chore I couldn't wait to shake

I'd drop my bag and bolt for the gate

Rain or shine we'd run to that little caged park

Chasing a ball until the sky went dark

Pre-Chorus

Good old days

I hold them closer now

Every scraped knee every laugh every fall

When the streetlights flickered we still wouldn't go

That town is stitched inside my soul

Chorus

Oh those were the days wild and running free

Kicking that ball beneath the old oak trees

We had our lessons our laughter our scars

And a sky full of dreams and a field full of stars

I wouldn't trade a minute the good or the bad

Those were the best days I ever had

Post-Chorus

Whoa-oh whoa-oh

The best days I ever had

Whoa-oh whoa-oh

Mm-hmm

Verse 2

My brother lifted candy from the corner store

Even though we had plenty sitting back at home

He wanted to look tough for the crowd on the block

Puffing up his chest like he couldn't be stopped

Then the cruiser rolled up and Mama came down

Sat us both at the table with a serious frown

That lesson stuck like a burr in my side

You don't prove who you are by living a lie

Pre-Chorus

We were young

Still learning wrong from right

Stumbling through the long slow afternoons

Mama's voice still steady and true

Those growing years are the ones that made you

Chorus

Oh those were the days wild and running free

Kicking that ball beneath the old oak trees

We had our lessons our laughter our scars

And a sky full of dreams and a field full of stars

I wouldn't trade a minute the good or the bad

Those were the best days I ever had

Post-Chorus

Whoa-oh whoa-oh

The best days I ever had

Whoa-oh whoa-oh

Mm-hmm

Verse 3

My father had a soft heart gave his coat to a stranger

Shared his plate with anyone in danger

A candy bar could turn a kid's whole week around

He loved watching kindness go unbound

But a proud heart can wander down a crooked road

A woman came along and a secret showed

Mama packed her strength and she chose to stand

She raised two boys with her own two hands

Bridge

Love is a choice you make each morning

Trust is a promise you keep without warning

Pride takes more than it ever hands back

But the lessons we carry still light the track

Final Chorus

Oh those were the days wild and running free

Kicking that ball beneath the old oak trees

We had our lessons our laughter our scars

And a sky full of dreams and a field full of stars

Through the good and the bad through the tears and the glad

Those were the best days

The best days I ever had

Post-Chorus

Whoa-oh whoa-oh

The best days I ever had

Whoa-oh whoa-oh

Mm-hmm

Whoa-oh whoa-oh

The best days I ever had