The songs that made you cry

[j4]

Personal 'song of the week': Jamie O'Neal, "There is no Arizona".

I like the way good country songs approach predictable themes from
unpredictable angles. I like the strong melodic writing, and the element
of storytelling that's so often present. None of which really explains the
way a good song can just get under your skin and make you shiver every
time.

He promised her a new and better life
Out in Arizona
Underneath the blue never-ending sky
Swore that he was gonna
Get things in order
He'd send for her
When he left her behind, it never crossed her mind

There is no Arizona
No painted desert
No Sedona
If there was a Grand Canyon
She could fill it up with the lies he's told her
But they don't exist
Those dreams he sold her
She'll wake up and find
There is no Arizona

She got a postcard with no return address
Postmarked Tombstone
It said I don't know where I'm goin next
But when I do I'll let ya know
May, June, July
She wonders why she's still waiting
She'll keep waiting 'cause

There is no Arizona
No painted desert
No Sedona
If there was a Grand Canyon
She could fill it up with the lies he's told her
But they don't exist
Those dreams he sold her
She'll wake up and find
There is no Arizona

Each day the sun sets into the west
Her heart sinks lower in her chest
And friends keep asking when she's going
Finally she tells them, don't you know

There is no Arizona
No painted desert
No Sedona
If there was a Grand Canyon
She could fill it up with the lies he's told her
But they don't exist
Those dreams he sold her
She'll wake up and find
There is no Arizona

He promised her a new and better life
Out in Arizona