Brantley Gilbert
never met
and probably
never will
but I went
to see ya still
got up at the crack
parked in a field
and got on a shuttle
thinking how big
and nice it was
had almost an hour
to think that
‘til some guy gets on the bus
and gets on the speaker
and starts off with “sorry …”
something about a police escort
so we all get off
the big, nice bus
and load up
on the small, yellow bus
and I’m thinking
you better be worth it …
and there we are
sardines in a can
chillin half an hour
finally ready to move
and the driver
decides he needs breakfast
and they’re hollering,
“where’s your driver …”
and a guy in the back yells out
“he’s over there getting food,
see that big guy with the white shirt …”
so they holler for him
and he gets back on the bus
and it actually starts moving
bout 20 minutes we’re there
and pull out our paper tickets
and get ‘em scanned
and soon as I see the stage
I’m thinking
it doesn’t look ready … at all
so I ask somebody
“is Gilbert singing on that stage
or the other one”
and the guy points
to the one I’m looking at
the one that’s not ready
so I sit down on this
makeshift step
and about an hour later
I see this guy with paperwork
and a badge and a blue shirt
and I ask him
“do you know when
Brantley Gilbert is gonna sing …”
and he looks down the page
and says, “5:30 …”
and I’m thinking
“5:30 …”
so I sit back down
and bake in the oven
‘cause the guy tells me
once your ticket is scanned
you can’t leave and come back
and yes, this was my first rodeo
and no, I’m not a college kid
so aside from the police
and the paramedics
think I was the only sober soul
5:30 came and went
by that time
I’m sitting under a tent
2 other acts take the stage
first
got showered in beer
and shoved against a wire fence
‘cause the two guys on the cooler
fell off the cooler
and the guy with no shirt
wearing suspenders and a smile
keeps asking for a dance
“can’t you pretend you’re in love with me …”
8:30
there you are
in boxer form
chains banging against your leg
and I’m taking it in …
my CD singer
LIVE
and it was
worth the wait
but only got to hear
your opening number
‘cause I’m a wife and mother
and the line to the bus
was, well, another
so we waited
like cattle
and heard you sing
from far away
and it was
well
worth it
TL