Where Friday Nights Last Forever

Performed by Bale Harrison & The Texas Field Hands

Where Friday Nights Last Forever — Music and Lyrics by Alan Nafzger

(Verse 1)
In a small-town cafe, the sun barely up,
The old men gather ‘round, all holdin’ their cups.
They sip and they talk about days gone by,
And that one Friday night when their dreams went awry.

“Well, if Bobby caught that pass, we’d be state champs today,”
Says old Joe, like it was just yesterday.
But poor Bobby moved off, couldn’t take the heat,
He comes home at Christmas, ‘cause shame ain’t sweet.

(Chorus)
Where Friday nights last forever, and the pain don’t fade,
The team that lost, still wears that shame today.
Half of ’em left, half stayed behind,
But the story keeps rollin’ in the back of their minds.
You can blame who you want, it’s a small-town fate,
Where second place sticks with you like bad first dates.

(Verse 2)
Jimmy’s now a lawyer, big-shot in the city,
But back in this cafe, he’s a cautionary ditty.
“Remember that tackle he missed on the 20-yard line?”
“Now he’s ignoring us, every Christmas time.”

Coach sits in the home, starin’ out into space,
They say it’s dementia, but we know the case.
If he could just talk, he’d clear up that night,
But silence makes guilt, and that’s all the insight.

(Chorus)
Where Friday nights last forever, and the pain don’t fade,
The team that lost, still wears that shame time.
Half of ’em left, half stayed behind,
But the story keeps rollin’ in the back of their minds.
You can blame who you want, it’s a small-town fate,
Where second place sticks with you like the one that got away.

(Bridge)
They say, “It’s the uniforms, those polyester sacks!”
Or “Maybe it’s the refs, we all know the facts!”
Every theory’s tossed around like old game balls,
But the truth is, it’s all just coffee shop bull.

(Verse 3)
Old Sam pipes up, “Heck, if I’d played that game,
We’d have our rings, and a whole lot of fame!”
Sure, Sam – with your bad knees and bum back,
You’d run that field like a well-oiled track.

Bobby’s girl left too – the shame’s too much,
Couldn’t take those stares or the guilted touch.
Yeah, the whole town’s torn between guilt and pride,
But they’ll sit in that cafe till the day they all die.

(Outro)
So pour another cup and pass the blame,
In a town where football’s more than just a game.
And if you ever drop by ‘round Christmas, well hey,
You’ll see old Bobby… but he won’t wave.
Where Friday nights last forever, and the coffee’s always black,
Here’s to the runner-up champs – half the team ain’t ever comin’ back.

Where Friday Nights Last Forever