One Beer Behind E
Ace High Bluff
Dangerous Path · A Year of Mistakes · Bittersweet Country Storytelling
#VERSE
Brenda’s birthday party
Made the paper last year
Drunken brawl, six arrests
Might repeat tonight, right here
McHenry’s bar is skittering
A two-step vibe is in the air
Her friends all chugging brewskis
But Brenda’s heart’s not there
#PRE-CHORUS
Too much shit went down
The past three hundred sixty-five
Now friends shout, “Chug it, Birthday Girl!”
Brenda raises her mug—keeps her lips dry
#CHORUS
One beer behind
One beer behind
She won’t try to catch up now
Gonna miss some fun this time
She’s been three beers ahead
Her entire adult life
So, she’s okay tonight
Being one beer behind
One beer behind
#VERSE
This town was getting dirty
Before Brenda met Big Dave
One drunk night at McHenry’s
Made her the one he’d save
Didn’t save her from her drinking
Got her loaded every night
Kept her three large beers ahead
Saved her for his own delight
#PRE-CHORUS
Turns out Big Dave was cookin’ meth
Out at Old Man Johnstone’s place
But that wasn’t the real reason
Brenda’s going slow on this birthday
#CHORUS
She’s one beer behind
One beer behind
She won’t try to catch up now
Doesn’t want big fun this time
She’s been three beers ahead
Her entire adult life
So, she’s happier tonight
Being one beer behind
One beer behind
#BRIDGE
In the dead December winter
They hauled Big Dave away
But Brenda kept on slamming brews
Here at McHenry’s anyway
December thirtieth, driving home
Through an iced Nebraska snow
Heading north on Thirty-Four
What she hit, she didn’t know
#INSTRUMENTAL
#VERSE
When Brenda came to, she realized
She’d crashed right by Joe Richter’s farm
She knew he and Marta had a young son
Benji—oh hell—had she caused him harm?
Marta and Joe ran out with flashlights
Shining bright beams to see it all
Lying dead against Brenda’s truck
Benji’s precious white pony, Snowball
#PRE-CHORUS
The brawl, the meth, her totaled truck
All started at McHenry’s, right here
But none of that shined a light on her path
Until a child’s dead pony brought her to tears
#CHORUS
One beer behind
One beer behind
No desire to catch up now
But might sip just one mug tonight
Brenda’s been three beers ahead
Her entire adult life
So, she feels safer this time
Being one beer behind
One beer behind
#OUTRO
One beer behind
One beer behind
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