Whiskey Lows
Whiskey Lows
"I’ve always wanted to write a song about Jesus and whiskey. I’ve heard songs about meeting Jesus at a bar, having convo’s about life over drinks. I think a part of me, and maybe others, like to imagine divine encounters in a very human, tangible way that maybe I’ll never actually get to experience. But a girl can dream." (Brittney Spencer)
WHISKEY LOWS
Written by Brittney Spencer (BMI), Stephan Hovsepian (ASCAP), Shelley Scarr (ASCAP)
© 2017 Common Hymnal Digital (BMI), BSpencer Publishing (BMI), Common Hymnal Publishing (ASCSP), First Fiddle Music (ASCAP), Shelley Scarr Music (ASCAP) (admin by IntegratedRights.com). CCLI 7150631.
VERSE 1
F
Sometimes I don’t feel my highest
Bb F
It’s like I reach up and find that I’m not the tallest
F
Like my good just ain’t good enough
F Gm
My honest ain’t true enough, and my world is a sad kind of blue
Bb F
I look to the heavens for something to pull me through
CHORUS 1
C Bb F
Well Lord I’ve been drinking, but Jesus is praying for me
C Bb F
And I hear him calling whenever I fall to my knees
Dm Bb F
Well I’ve had my share of Sunday whiskey lows
Gm Bb F
But he’s filling my cup with the sweetest I’ll ever know
VERSE 2
Sometimes the whiskey don’t sting
And sometimes that old bourbon makes me sing
Can’t tell if I’m numb to the pain or if I’m going insane
But I’m losing my sense of time
So I call on Jesus ‘cause he is a friend of mine
CHORUS 2
Lord I’ve been drinking but Jesus is praying for me
And I hear him calling whenever I fall to my knees
Well I’ve had my share of bitter whiskey lows
But he’s filling my cup with the sweetest I’ll ever know
BRIDGE
Eb Bb F
Well I heard from a friend of a friend you walked on water
Eb Bb F
And I heard that you dry every tear, and that your love is stronger
Dm Bb
Than what’s in my glass and what’s in my past
Gm Bb
You say hurting hearts don’t last
More Songs Written By Brittney Spencer
When I sat down to write "Whiskey Lows" with Shelley and Stephan, I told them how much I love old country songs that talk about meeting, seeing or talking to Jesus at bars or over drinks, and I said I'd been wanting to write a song like that. Out of that conversation, "Whiskey Lows" was born. I, like many of you, have a history of drug and alcohol abuse in my family. I've heard stories and watched people I know and love fight to overcome addictions of all sorts, many of whom are/were believers. For me, writing this song with my friends was a chance to tell the story of a vulnerable, real talk with Jesus right in the middle of pain and addiction. The person in this song knew where they were in life and still had enough faith to know that God doesn't shy away from our valleys and difficult moments. He's God enough to meet us in the eye of our own hurricanes when we invite him into those challenging moments. I aspire to be as real with God, myself and others as the person in this song.
My wife Shelley and I happened to be coming thru Nashville for some work and my friend Malcolm invited me to come to a songwriting retreat that was happening at Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison’s old homes. How could I resist? When we got there, Malcolm introduced us to Brittney and within minutes I just knew we all clicked. I mentioned to her that I had a lyric that I wrote in a dream I had years ago but I haven’t been able to place it any song. The line was “sometimes the whiskey don’t sting, and sometimes the bourbon makes me sing”. I had no idea what that meant but it woke me up anyway and I wrote it down. When I showed Brittney she thought it was interesting and said she’s been wanting to write a song about the pains and traps of addiction. Naturally, it’s not a good opening line for song so we saved it for the second verse but everything came together so quickly once we knew where we were going. This is the first song and only song I’ve ever written that had a second verse before the first verse. I remember Shelley mentioning that this was a song that would never be sung in church but it’s a song that lots of people are probably singing on a Sunday morning. We just wanted to write a really honest song, that was always the goal. Needles to say, the setting where we wrote it was also an influence on the tone of the song. How can you not write a song about Jesus, whiskey, and bourbon when you’re sitting in Johnny Cash’s old living room?