Between the Bottle and Goodbye
single
Between the Bottle and Goodbye
Running at a breathless 161 BPM in D minor, ‘Between the Bottle and Goodbye’ is STAB at her most unflinching, a breakup song that earns its anthemic sweep because the writing does the heavy lifting first. The lyric ‘you picked your poison, I’ve made my choice’ lands like a door slamming shut, and the bridge, which pulls the guitars back and lets the vocal stand nearly alone before the final chorus detonates, is the kind of structural move that separates a good rock track from a room-filling one. It sits somewhere between Sheryl Crow’s toughest ballads and a Pretenders song where Chrissie Hynde has finally run out of patience, and that is very good company to keep.
Lyrics
Your boots unsteady on the floor Your voice is low, your hands are cold Another night sleeping all alone Empty excuses I don't hear
Your voice shakes as you light one up Whiskey burns, but you don't care Even when you're here it's empty I'm chasing a memory that isn't there
I've picked you up, I've watched you drown Sick of begging, sick of lies
Between the bottle and goodbye I see the truth you hide inside You picked your poison, I've made my choice Between the bottle and goodbye
Your promise shatters like broken glass Each drink means more than I do I swore I'd fight, I swore I'd stay But I ain't dyin' to be right
I've held you up, I've watched you drown Sick of begging, sick of lies
Between the bottle and goodbye I see the truth you hide inside You picked your poison, I've made my choice Between the bottle and goodbye
Took your words, took your nights Took the blame, made it right Took the fall, took the pain I've made the choice to make this end
Between the bottle and goodbye I see the truth you hide inside You picked your poison, I've made my choice Between the bottle and goodbye
Keys in the door, smoke in the air Ain't comin' back, don't even care Between the bottle and goodbye I see the truth you hide inside You picked your poison, I've made my choice Between the bottle and goodbye Keys in the door, smoke in the air Ain't comin' back, don't even care
Credits
Songwriter: Michael Anthony Rose